


My Pokemon Academia

by Butterflygon



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: ...assuming I actually get that far, Alternate Universe, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Crossover, Gen, I've edited these tags at least a billion times, Mineta Minoru Faces Consequences, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Faces Consequences, hopefully I can make it as far as where the anime currently is at, now with artwork drawn by yours truly, tbh I'm kinda winging this so I have no idea how far into BNHA's story I will cover, will probably do it again in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 119,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25791214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Butterflygon/pseuds/Butterflygon
Summary: It's My Hero Academia but everyone is a Pokemon.
Comments: 46
Kudos: 78





	1. Izuku Midoriya, I choose you!

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [My Hero Academia X Pokémon](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/663892) by WEEDle. 



It all started over a century ago, when a baby Abra was born glowing in a bright light, and soon after, more Pokémon all across the globe started manifesting strange powers, which would later come to be called Quirks, and nowadays roughly 80% of all the world’s Pokémon possessed some strange or uncanny ability. But unfortunately for Izuku Midoriya, he turned out to be one of the 20% who didn’t have a Quirk.

The four-year-old Eevee had learned about that only a week ago after a visit to the doctor.

_“Sorry kid, it’s not gonna happen.”_ The old Stoutland’s words echoed in Izuku’s head. Oh, how the revelation hurt. Now the only thing remotely unusual about Izuku was his appearance; whereas Eevees were usually brown with a cream mane and tail tips, Izuku’s fur was mostly light gray with a greenish tint, and his mane and tail tip were dark green. The colors were inherited from his mother, who also had green fur and eyes. Of course, if the choice had been between inheriting powers or looks, Izuku would have picked the former in a heartbeat; after all, the Eevee’s biggest wish was to become a hero, but heroes need Quirks.

Izuku was thinking about his whole situation as he wandered about in a playground with no adult supervision whatsoever when he heard the cries of a distressed Pokémon. Almost on instinct, the Eevee rushed in the direction where the cries were coming from, and soon he came across the noise’s source: a Bidoof around the same age as Izuku was being ganged up on by a trio of fellow unsupervised four-year-olds. The gang of bullies consisted of a Woobat, a Chikorita, and a Quilava with distinctive black back fur and faint streaks of blond fur on his head. Izuku recognized the Quilava right away; it was Katsuki Bakugo, who had developed a Lava Plume Quirk not too long ago. However, he had been a Cyndaquil the last time Izuku had seen him.

“P-please Katsuki-chan” said the Bidoof in between sobs “I-I didn’t know that last cookie was reserved for you, I swear!”

“Of course, you didn’t know” the Quilava scoffed “You’re a Bidoof, so it’s in your nature to be stupid and useless.” He took a step forward, making the Bidoof flinch “But don’t worry, even a stupid useless Bidoof like you can learn a lesson… as long as it’s taught the right way.”

Katsuki’s front paws began to ignite and throw off sparks, and Izuku’s alarm bells began going off: Katsuki had clearly just evolved and wanted to test out how much stronger his Quirk had become with his new form.

“Hey, leave him alone!” Izuku shouted as he ran to place himself protectively in front of the crying Bidoof.

“Oh, what’s that Deku?” Katsuki said in a condescending tone “You want to pretend to be a hero? You don’t stand a chance without a Quirk!”

“Why are you being so mean, Kacchan?” said Izuku, ignoring the taunt “Bidoofs are cool! There was this pro-hero named Peanut Butter who was a Bidoof, and he was one of the strongest-”

Kacchan socked Izuku in the face before he could finish his sentence.

“SCREW YOU DEKU, PEANUT BUTTER SUCKS! HE WAS BEATEN BY A SANDWICH!”

Izuku made a pained squeaky noise as he fell to the ground.

“Now I’m gonna give you a beating for being a Quirkless loser AND for having such garbage taste in heroes!” said the Quilava, as he ignited his front paws with tiny sparks of flame. His Woobat and Chikorita lackeys joined in with their own Quirks, and together they all ganged up on the hapless Eevee.

Minutes later, the bullies had left, leaving a badly battered Eevee and a still sobbing Bidoof behind.

“I guess it’s true… not all Mons are created equal. I know now that some kids have greater power than others…”

“What the eff are you talking about?!” cried the Bidoof in confusion.

“Oh, sorry.” Izuku said morosely “I just tend to get all deep and philosophical-wannabe when I’m sad. And sometimes I talk aloud without noticing.”

“…Okay, well, thanks for trying to help -even if you failed miserably- but I’m going home now. I don’t have time for this edgelord stuff.”

And just like that the Bidoof left, and strangely, Izuku never saw him again.

_10 Years Later_

A now adolescent Izuku was sitting in class and listening to his teacher’s lecture. He hadn’t evolved yet, though he had at least grown a little bigger, and he still wanted to become a hero, to the point that whenever there was an incident going on in town, Izuku -if he had the time- would always head to wherever it was and study the scene closely, and today had been exciting because on the way to school Izuku had witnessed a new hero arriving at a big crime scene, though the way she had introduced herself had been… unconventional, to say the least. The hero in question was a pretty Tsareena called Mount Lady, and with her Dynamax Quirk she had single-handedly KO’d a villain, as well as stolen the thunder from poor Kamui Woods. As usual, Izuku had taken some quick notes on the newcomer right then and there, but he had only gotten down the basics, and right now Izuku was in the middle of class, so he’d have to wait until that was over to get some more detailed notes down.

“So as third-year students, it’s time to start thinking about your futures and what you want to do with your lives.” said the Simisage professor “Now, I could pass some career aptitude tests, but why bother; I know you all want to go to the Hero track! Besides, I’m really tired today and don’t feel like passing out papers.”

The teacher threw a bunch of papers into the air like confetti and the students cheered and started using their powers. Well, everyone except Izuku, of course.

“Yes, yes, kids, your powers are awesome and everything, but you know it’s against the rules to use them at school. I don’t want my paycheck to get cut again.”

“Hey, teach, don’t you dare bump me in with these losers.”

That was Katsuki Bakugo. Unlike Izuku, he had already evolved again, so he was now a Typhlosion; the streaks of blond fur he’d had as a Quilava had developed into a full spiky tuft on his head, and his Quirk undoubtedly had also grown in power considerably.

Kacchan leaned back on his chair and put his feet on the desk with a smug smile on his face. “I’m the real deal, but everyone else in this class can count themselves lucky to end up as sidekicks to some busted D-lister.”

The rest of the class (minus Izuku again) raged at him, but Kacchan was unperturbed.

“Bring it, fuckers!” he said, “I’ll take you all on!!”

“Eh, to be fair, Bakugo does have impressive test results.” Said the Professor “So if anyone can get into UA High, it’s him.”

Upon the words “UA High” being mentioned, the overall mood of the classroom immediately shifted from anger to shock.

“Wait, Bakugo,” said a Brionne student “You’re seriously trying to apply for UA High?!”

“That school has like a 2.4% acceptance rate!” said a Graveler “It’s nearly impossible to get in!”

“And that’s exactly why it’s the only place worthy of me!” Kacchan said confidently as he jumped on top of his desk “I aced all my tests, and I even evolved so that my body’s at its strongest possible natural state! I’m the only one at this school who stands a chance of getting into UA High, and one day I’ll end up a greater hero than even All Might himself!”

“Oh, that reminds me; Midoriya, didn’t you want to apply for UA High too?” Said Professor Simisage as if sensing that it was time to single out the unpopular kid of the class.

Predictably, the revelation that the only Quirkless student wanted to try for the most well-renowned hero school in the country caused everyone to erupt in mocking laughter and exclamations of “No way you’re getting in without a Quirk!”

“Well, they recently got rid of the rule that Quirkless Pokémon can’t apply!” Izuku squeaked, trying to defend himself “I could be the first one!”

The Eevee only barely had enough time to dodge the ignited Typhlosion paw slamming into his desk and creating a tiny explosion. Izuku fell to the ground with a thud.

“Listen up, Deku!” Kacchan growled “You’re even worse than the rest of these rejects, you Quirkless wannabe! What makes you think UA would accept you when they could have me?!”

“N-no, Kacchan, you’ve got the wrong idea!” Izuku stammered as he backed into the classroom wall “I’m not trying to compete against you or anything! It’s just…” Izuku’s expression turned forlorn “I’ve wanted to be a hero since I was little. I may not have a Quirk, but I can still try my hardest, can’t I?”

“Even if you try your hardest, you’ll just end up dying in the entrance exam!” Kacchan laughed “You worthless excuse for a Pokémon, think of this school! It already sucks, you’d only embarrass it even further by your failure!”

Izuku didn’t respond and kept his head low. He knew that no matter what he said would just anger Kacchan even more. Luckily for him, the Typhlosion dropped the argument then and there and stomped back to his desk.

“Midoriya, get back to your seat so we can move on with actual schoolwork.” Said the Professor.

Izuku silently obeyed, and thankfully the rest of the class time went by without incident. Once that was over and everyone was getting ready to head home, however…

“Wow, the fight from today’s morning is still all over the news!” said Izuku as he scrolled through his phone “Time to continue updating the Hero Dex before I forget anything!”

But before Izuku could reach his journal, it was snatched by a familiar paw.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, Deku, but we’re not done.” Said Katsuki as he waved the book just out of the much tinier Eevee’s reach.

“Hey, what have you got there, his diary?” said Kacchan’s Bayleef lackey, the same Chikorita that had helped torment Izuku since they were little. The Bayleef was joined by a Croconaw, and the Woobat, whose surname was Tsubasa and was also coincidentally the grandson of the doctor who had diagnosed Izuku as Quirkless, was nowhere to be seen. He had moved away long ago and neither Izuku nor Kacchan nor any of their acquaintances had heard from him since.

“‘Hero Dex’?” the Croconaw inquired as he read the journal’s title “Hold on, are you taking notes on how to be a hero?”

“HAHAHA! That’s so pathetic!” the Bayleef fell to the floor laughing hysterically.

“Yeah, poor guy’s delusional!” the Croconaw snickered.

“Okay, real funny, guys!” cried Izuku “Please give it back!”

Kacchan wordlessly burned the journal and threw it out an open classroom window. Izuku screamed in horror.

“Here’s a little word of advice for you, nerd.” Said Kacchan as he grabbed Izuku by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up to eye level “Don’t you dare even think of applying, or _else_.”

Izuku could do nothing but tremble as he stared into Kacchan’s piercing red eyes. The Typhlosion dropped the Eevee without another word, apparently satisfied with the outcome of their “conversation” and stormed towards the door.

“That’s just sad… I thought he at least had _some_ fight in him.” said the Croconaw as he followed Kacchan.

“He just finally gets it. He’ll never be a hero. Better for him to find out the easy way now than the hard and almost certainly lethal way later.” The Bayleef added.

Kacchan abruptly stopped walking and turned his head to look at Izuku, who had his head lowered and his back turned towards the bullies “Actually, Deku, if you really want to be a hero that badly, there might be another way: just pray that you’ll be born with a Quirk in your next life and take a jump off the building. I mean, it’s either reincarnation with a Quirk or you get to be the first ever Ghost-type Eeveelution! It’s win-win!”

Now, Izuku wasn’t someone who got angry easily, but that comment awakened a deep, primal rage from within the core of his being. It was enough for Izuku to turn around and growl at Kacchan.

The Typhlosion just smirked and created small explosions with his paw. “Something wrong?”

And just like that, the primal rage was gone and Izuku was back to being a trembling, whimpering mess.

* * *

Izuku prowled the edge of a pond located just outside the school building, head hanging as low as his spirits. Sure, Kacchan had been kind of a jerk to him ever since the former got his Quirk, but Izuku never thought he’d go as far as to make a suicide joke at his expense. What if Izuku followed through with the advice? What then?

“Darn kids throwing their stinky garbage everywhere!” cried someone right next to him.

Izuku turned his head in direction of the voice and saw a Magikarp angrily trying to pull a burnt notebook out of his pond. Izuku’s Hero Dex.

“I knew we shouldn’t have moved to a pond next to a freaking middle school, but oooh noooo; ‘The price is great!’ Dennis said, ‘It’s so close to work!’ Dennis said, as if that made up for constantly getting caught up in brat shenaniganry!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, that’s mine.” Said Izuku as he reached out and grabbed the notebookwith his mouth.

“Well… fine, here you go. But take care of your things, ya hear? I’m so done with you kids throwing your stinky garbage!” said the Magikarp.

Izuku just shrugged at the Magikarp’s rant and carefully placed his journal on the ground and stared at it sadly. Thankfully the damage done to it wasn’t as bad as it had seemed at first, as the title, “Hero Dex no.13” was still readable, and only the back of it was soaked, so hopefully it’d be good as new after letting it dry.

Izuku sighed and continued his trek home, absentmindedly walking across streets and buildings. Ever since learning that he would never develop a Quirk, he had tried to compensate by writing extensive analyses on pro-heroes, studying their powers, skills, fighting styles, weaknesses, the works. Izuku greatly admired heroes, and his absolute favorite by far was All Might, the current #1 hero in the entire world. It was him who inspired Izuku’s own dream of becoming a hero. The fact that the guy was an Eeveelution certainly didn’t hurt either. In fact, in the past Izuku had seriously considered purchasing the right evolution stone so he could become the same species as his idol but ultimately decided against it for rather personal reasons.

Still, Izuku refused to give up on his dreams. He wanted to keep trying, to smile and laugh in the face of adversity just like All Might. No matter what anyone said.

His determination renewed, Izuku held his head and tail up high as he marched towards a tunnel and did his best impression of All Might’s trademark laugh. Suddenly, Izuku heard a squelching noise behind him, and noticed that the shadow of something huge had suddenly blocked the sun.

Izuku looked up to see an enormous Muk looking down at him.

“Sup.” Said the Muk “Imma steal your body now.”

Izuku immediately bolted. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough and was soon enveloped by the Muk’s slimy and sticky body. Izuku struggled, but of course, with the Muk’s body being basically a liquid there was no breaking free. The Muk then forced Izuku’s mouth open and began to force his body into it.

“Stop struggling, kid, you’ll only make it harder for us both.” Said the Muk “I need to get out of here before he finds me…”

Izuku wasn’t even paying attention to what the Muk was saying, since he was too busy flailing as he slowly suffocated. The Eevee mentally screamed for help, for someone, anyone, to come to his rescue.

* _clang_ *

The sound of a monhole cover hitting the concrete floor interrupted both Izuku’s thoughts and his Muk attacker’s body takeover.

“Have no fear, you’re safe” said a deep, booming voice as someone climbed up from the sewer “now that I am here!”

Then there was a massive gust of wind so powerful that it completely blew the Muk away, finally releasing Izuku from his grip and allowing him to take a breath. Izuku managed to catch a brief glimpse of his rescuer before losing consciousness.

_Hold on, is that… All… Might…?_

The first thing Izuku noticed upon regaining consciousness was that someone was repeatedly and lightly slapping his cheek.

“Hey, hey, wake up!”

Izuku slowly opened his eyes.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” said the smiling Jolteon looking down at him. “Thought we’d lost you there!”

Izuku yelped in surprise, quickly jumped to his feet, and took several steps backwards in surprise. All Might. Izuku was staring at All Might. In the flesh. The guy was already impressive to watch on TV and online videos, but he looked even more awesome and imposing in person: he had a huge, muscular build, and was easily twice as big as the average Jolteon. All Might also wore a sash around his midsection, which was a little strange, since Pokémon usually don’t wear clothes besides their hero costumes and the occasional uniform, but this being All might, the sash was likely training equipment of some sort.

“Sorry about that back there!” said All Might in his trademark hammy voice “I usually try not to get civilians caught up in my justicing, but who would have guessed this city’s sewer system would be an outright maze!” All Might laughed. Izuku simply continued to stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed like a complete dork.

“Anyway, you were a big help, kid!” said All Might as he held up a large bottle of soda full of a purple liquid “I have captured the evildoer right here!”

Izuku finally snapped out of his stupor “Oh, holy crap… I gotta get an autograph! Please sign my notebook!” Izuku reached for his Hero Dex journal, which he had dropped when the Muk criminal had attacked him and opened it to find out that All Might had already signed it.

“Ah! Thank you so much! This will be an heirloom! A family treasure to be passed down for generations to come!” Izuku cried as he repeatedly bowed his thanks.

“Welp, I gotta get this guy to the authorities, see ya!” All Might stuffed the bottle into one of his sash’s pockets.

Izuku's heart skipped a beat. _Wait. No. He can’t leave yet!_

Without thinking, Izuku jumped onto All Might’s back just as the Jolteon made a huge leap into the air. There were a lot of Pokémon, mainly Flying-types, who always commented on how wonderful the breeze felt when one traveled through the skies at high speeds. Izuku disagreed with this notion. Luckily, All Might quickly noticed that the Eevee fanboy had clung to him and promptly landed on the roof of a nearby building.

“M-my life just flashed before my eyes…” Izuku gasped as soon as he was back on solid floor.

“What the hell, kid!” Said All Might “I love my fans but that there was way overboard! Now, I really gotta go. Just bang on that door over there; someone will let you in eventually.” All Might turned around and walked towards the edge of the building.

“Wait, not yet!” said Izuku, immediately getting over his lingering vertigo.

“Nope! I don’t have any time!”

“But I have to know-!” Memories flashed through Izuku’s mind. The doctor bluntly telling him that he’d never develop a Quirk. His mother crying and apologizing to him for his Quirklessness. Bakugo’s constant insults. His classmates’ mockery of his lack of power. Izuku winced for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Can I still become a hero, even if I don’t have a Quirk?”

All Might stopped walking, his back still turned on the little Eevee.

“Unlike most Pokémon, I don’t have any powers,” Izuku continued “but even so, do I still have hope? Could I be someone like you?”

There was a long pause.

“…without a Quirk?” All Might asked in a hushed tone.

“Yeah.” Izuku sighed and looked at the ground, embarrassed “Other Pokémon think I don’t have a chance, that being powerless makes me weak. But of that only makes me wanna prove them wrong. Ever since I was a little kid, I always thought that helping Pokémon was the coolest thing anyone can do…” Izuku was now so caught up in his little speech that he began speaking more assuredly, and didn’t notice that there was steam coming out of All Might “I want other Pokémon to see my fearless smile and feel safe, be the kind of hero everyone in the world looks up to, just like you!”

Izuku finally raised his head to look at All Might, only to find out that the musclebound Jolteon was no longer there. In his place stood a much smaller and horribly emaciated Jolteon, with floppy wrinkled ears and sunken eyes. And everything went downhill from there.

To Izuku, the mere notion that All Might, the world’s greatest hero and his personal idol, could be injured was a true nightmare; as it turns out, the sash that All Might wore wasn’t training equipment at all, nor was it even just for cosmetics, it’s true purpose was to hide a nasty scar that was the result of multiple operations after the Jolteon had lost a good chunk of his internal organs fighting some unknown powerful villain. And to rub salt in the wound, All Might confirmed to Izuku what the Eevee had been dreading: without a Quirk he could not be a hero.

“It’s okay to have a dream, young mon. Just… make sure that dream is realistic.” That was the last thing All Might said to Izuku before leaving through the conveniently not locked door.

Of course, it made sense that All Might would try to dissuade him: after all, if even a Pokémon with superpowers could get injured or even killed in the line of duty, if even _All Might_ , Symbol of Peace and greatest hero in the world could receive injuries as severe as what he’d shown Izuku, then a powerless Pokémon wouldn’t stand a chance. Still, hearing his idol turn down his dream dealt a heavy blow to Izuku’s spirit.

_I guess I should start thinking of another career…_ the Eevee thought morosely as he left the building that he and All Might had landed on. _Maybe I could be a therapist… that sounds nice._

Suddenly, an explosion went off from somewhere just across the street where Izuku was walking. Another villain attack, no doubt. Despite knowing that making any analyses would be useless now that he had absolute confirmation that he couldn’t become a hero, Izuku found himself subconsciously heading towards the commotion.

Sadness immediately turned into dread and terror when Izuku got close enough to see exactly what was going on: lots of fires had broken out, the apparent cause being a Muk was causing havoc and had taken another Pokémon hostage. There were several heroes at the scene, but unfortunately none of them had the right Quirks to deal with the situation: Kamui Woods couldn’t get close due to all the fires, the fight was in a tight alley so Mt. Lady couldn’t fit through, Death Arms simply wasn’t strong enough to subdue the offending Muk, Backdraft was busy trying to put the fires out, and the rest of the heroes were far too busy rescuing trapped civilians to properly engage in battle.

Izuku’s froze. That Muk… he was the same one that had attacked Izuku earlier. All Might had defeated caught the Muk in a bottle, which he had then tucked into a pocket in his sash. Then Izuku had grabbed onto All Might as the latter jumped.

_I made All Might drop the bottle and the villain escaped…_ Izuku realized with dawning horror, _and I wasted his time so now he can’t power up again… this is all my fault…_

Just then, the Muk turned around slightly and now Izuku could see the hostage Pokémon. It was a Typhlosion. _Kaachan!_ No wonder fires had broken out; Kacchan must have caused them with his Lava Plume as he fought to escape. But Kacchan was not firing off any attacks anymore; his body was almost entirely enveloped by the Muk’s unrelenting grasp so that only his head remained visible, and even then the Muk had muzzled the young Typhlosion’s mouth shut. Izuku could see that Kacchan, as valiantly as he thrashed, was losing the struggle. No surprise there, either; Izuku had been in that very position, and he’d almost suffocated to death after only a few minutes. How long would Kacchan be able to stay alive?

_Just hold on..._ Izuku mentally pleaded, _Kacchan, you gotta hold on long enough until real hero to shows up and saves the day…_

And then, only for a moment, Kacchan turned his gaze towards the onlooking crowd of Pokémon, and there Izuku saw fear. Katsuki Bakugo, possibly the bravest and strongest of his class, afraid. He was begging. Begging silently for someone, _anyone_ , to save him.

Izuku’s mind went blank. Instinctively, the Eevee ran at full sprint towards Kacchan and the villain holding him hostage. Several of the heroes screamed at him to stop, but Izuku couldn’t hear them over his own panicked heartbeat. Remembering a passage in one of his journals, the Eevee threw his backpack at the Muk, weakening his hold slightly and allowing Kacchan to take in some air. Izuku then leapt at the Muk and desperately began to claw at its slimy body.

“Deku?!” cried Kacchan “What the hell?! Why are you here?!”

“I don’t know!” Izuku practically screamed “My legs just started moving! I- I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die!”

“GO AWAY, YOU LITTLE PEST!” cried the Muk as he raised a slimy fist to strike Izuku, who had no time to do anything but close his eyes shut and brace himself. Instead of pain however, Izuku only felt a sudden gust of wind.

The Eevee opened his eyes to see All Might in his muscle form blocking the Muk’s fist.

“I really am pathetic.” Said the Jolteon “I told you of the traits that make a great hero, but I see now that I wasn’t living up to my own ideals!”

Although Kacchan was covered in gross-smelling slime courtesy of his captor, that didn’t stop All Might by grabbing the Typhlosion using his mouth and effortlessly pulling him out of the Muk’s body before blowing the latter away with a single swipe of his paw. A blow so powerful that it created a tornado and caused a downpour.

The crowd of onlookers and the pro-heroes stared in stunned awe at All Might’s power before joyously cheering. The authorities arrived soon after to arrest the Muk criminal. The press was also there, of course, eager to interview All Might. Meanwhile, Izuku got a serious scolding by the other pro-heroes for needlessly risking his life, while Kacchan was praised for lasting against such a devastating villain for so long, not to mention having a powerful Quirk. Izuku wanted to apologize to All Might for causing so much trouble and for forcing him to resume his hero form despite his condition, but unfortunately, the Jolteon was surrounded by so many fans and reporters that Izuku couldn’t even get close. So, with nothing else to do and not wanting to be a nuisance, the little Eevee resumed his walk home, figuring that he could just send a written apology through All Might’s website or something.

Once Izuku arrived at the neighborhood where he lived, he was confronted by Kacchan.

“Listen to me, Deku.” Said the Typhlosion “I would never ask for a Quirkless loser like you to help me, you got that?! You did _nothing_ back there anyway. I don’t owe you anything!”

And with that, Kacchan turned and left in a huff. Izuku remained silent throughout the rant and made no effort to stop his classmate from walking away; Kacchan hadn’t been wrong, after all. If Izuku hadn’t been such a desperate fanboy, Kacchan would have never needed rescuing to begin with. The Eevee sighed and resumed his walk.

“I AM HERE!” All Might -somehow still in his muscle form- cried as he suddenly emerged from a corner and stopped just in front of Izuku.

“All Might?!” cried a surprised Izuku “Why are you here?! How’d you get rid of all those reporters?!”

All Might laughed his iconic laugh “I stand for justice, not soundbites! Because I am All M-BLEERRGH!”

And the moment was ruined by All Might abruptly and involuntarily reverting to his emaciated form and vomiting copious amounts of blood. Izuku couldn’t help but scream. Arceus, that was a grisly sight.

All Might coughed and wiped the remaining blood off his mouth.

“Sorry about that. I came here to thank you, young mon. Also, to discuss your question from earlier.”

“Thank me?” Izuku was taken aback “But why? I’m the whole reason that guy was there in the first place! I wasted your time and energy, so-”

All Might held up a paw, in a “hold on, I wasn’t done talking” gesture, and Izuku immediately went silent.

“Regardless of why that villain was there,” the Jolteon explained “the fact still stands, that you, a powerless, timid little Eevee, had the courage to try and save a life while the rest of us pros only stood watching helplessly. It was your actions that inspired me to act and save that Typhlosion; if you hadn’t acted the way you did, I would have been nothing but a worthless bystander.”

Izuku gasped.

“There are stories about heroes.” All Might went on “About how they became great. Most have one thing in common: their bodies moved before they had a chance to think, and today, that’s what happened to you.”

Realizing what All Might was getting at, tears began filling Izuku’s eyes.

“Young mon,” said All Might “You too can become a hero.”

The Eevee was now so overwhelmed by emotion that he began to sob and bawl loudly and couldn’t even remain standing anymore. Izuku was no stranger to crying; he was bullied frequently enough that sometimes he even cried himself to sleep. But this was the first time that Izuku cried tears of _joy_. After so many years of mockery and rejection, to hear those words from the Pokémon that he admired most, no less, it was like a dream. And Izuku hoped he never woke up if that was the case.

“I deem you worthy of my power!” said All Might “My Quirk is yours to inherit!”

Izuku abruptly stopped crying and stared at All Might wide-eyed with shock and confusion.

“Whuh?!”


	2. Fluffy Boy Gets Ripped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think this one's title is self-explanatory.

Extreme Evoboost. That was the name of All Might’s Quirk. A Quirk that, unlike all the other known ones in existence, could apparently be passed onto others. And All Might, who had been on the hunt for a successor, had decided to pass this power onto Izuku. At first Izuku couldn’t believe it: Quirks are supposed to be intrinsically tied to each individual Pokémon that has them, so the mere notion of one that could just be given away was something that the young Eevee had a hard time wrapping his head around. It just seemed too good to be true.

Regardless, Izuku had accepted All Might’s offer, and the two had agreed to meet at the local beach the next day.

“Sleep well, young Midoriya.” All Might had said to the Eevee before the two parted ways “You’re going to need it for tomorrow.”

Izuku had no idea how he could possibly get any sleep with how excited he was once the realization of what had happened that day hit him full force: he had just met his idol, who conveniently had a power that could be granted to someone else, he had offered to make Izuku his successor and once the weekend was over, would help him get into UA High. He really was going to become a hero. For the first time in… a long while, Izuku arrived home with a wide smile on his face.

“Izuku!” a green-furred Espeon rushed over to nuzzle him “Welcome home, sweetie! It looks like you had a good day.”

“Hi mom!” Izuku said as he nuzzled her back. “I did have the best day. I finally made up my mind: I’m definitely going to apply to UA’s Hero Course”

Izuku’s mother froze. “Oh. But you already said you wanted to apply for that.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just that I had doubts back then.” Said Izuku, wagging his tail “But now I know for sure that I have a chance.”

“How so?” Izuku’s mother tilted her head.

Izuku wasn’t sure how to answer that. He definitely couldn’t tell his mother that he was going to receive a Quirk; the true nature of Extreme Evoboost was a complete secret, and Izuku had promised All Might that he would keep it that way even from family and closest friends, not that Izuku had any of the latter. This also meant that it was probably not safe to talk about meeting All Might either, as not only was the mere idea of it kind of unbelievable, but Izuku’s mom was a big fan of the guy herself, and she’d no doubt prod at her son wanting to know every detail of how exactly the meeting had happened, and Izuku certainly didn’t want her to know that he’d had a run-in with a villain. Izuku’s mom was a nervous and sensitive person, two personality traits Izuku had inherited from her, and she already dealt with a lot of stress raising a child effectively considered disabled by modern society. It was to the point that the poor Espeon had gained considerable weight over the years from stress eating. Izuku didn’t want to add more grief onto his mother.

“Well, I met someone today.” Said Izuku after a pause “Someone who told me that I can become a hero.”

For a fleeting moment, Izuku thought he saw his mother’s expression turn sad, but as soon as he blinked it was gone. The Espeon simply embraced her son again.

“I’m so happy for you, Izuku.” She said as she wrapped her forked tail around her son “But remember, you have to study really hard if you want to get into UA. It’s going to be especially difficult for you.”

“I know.” Izuku replied. “But I’m going to try my hardest anyway.”

* * *

The next morning, Izuku and All Might were at Dagobah Beach as they had agreed and began Izuku’s training.

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s pretty comfortable up here! How are you doing down there?” a nonchalant All Might called from atop a huge fridge which his young pupil was trying to pull with some ropes to no avail. Instead, the Eevee collapsed rather pathetically into the ground.

“Plenty of Pokémon move these every day, y’know.” Said All Might matter-of-factly “Most don’t even have strength-enhancing Quirks.”

“But there’s extra weight with you on top…” said Izuku, whose words came out rather muffled because he was still face down on the dirt.

“I can’t be _that_ heavy.” All Might scoffed “I’ve lost weight since my injury.”

“Why do you have me dragging trash around, anyway?” asked Izuku as he picked himself up from the ground.

All Might laughed “Well, just look at you! You’re not ready to receive my power yet!”

“WHA?!” Izuku suddenly bolted up and started crying literal waterfalls “BUT I THOUGHT YOU SAID I WAS WORTHY!!!”

“In heart and soul, absolutely.” All Might chuckled “Physically however, you’re still far too weak. If I tried giving you Extreme Evoboost now, your head and limbs would explode right out of their sockets.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Izuku shuddered at the mental image.

“Well, yeah.” All Might fidgeted “Extreme Evoboost is a stockpiling Quirk that gets stronger as it’s passed on due to it accumulating the strength of every Pokémon that’s used it. And it’s been used by quite a few before you and me.”

“O-oh, o-okay.” Izuku gulped “Then I guess this dragging trash around thing is like a workout?”

“Correct!” All Might grinned “But that’s not just it. You see, this beach used to be clean and beautiful, but now look at it.”

“It’s true...” Izuku mused as he looked at the huge heaps of trash surrounding them “This beach used to be a popular vacation spot, but because to the ocean currents, lots of trash is washed up here, and Pokémon started taking advantage of that when illegally dumping their waste.”

“You see, young Midoriya, there’s more to being a hero than fighting bad guys or rescuing civilians.” Said All Might “In fact, back in the days before Quirks became a thing, heroes were those who did community service. Which is why your first step towards being a hero will be to clear this entire section of the beach!”

“Wait…” Izuku once again stared at the piles of garbage, which somehow looked even bigger and more foreboding than before “All of this?! But… there’s so much! That’s impossible!”

“Hey, you want to get into UA High, don’t you?” All Might cocked an eyebrow.

“Of course I do!” Izuku protested “It’s the hero school that you went to, after all!”

“Well, then you just have to follow my lead if you want to receive my Quirk in time for the entrance exam!”

“Wait, that’s right!” Izuku’s fur stood on end from nervousness and anticipation “The exam is in ten months! But is that really enough time?”

All Might smiled and pulled some sheets of paper out of his sash. “Don’t worry, kid! I already planned out a training regimen to strengthen your body! Just follow the instructions by the letter and you’ll have the beach cleaned up just in time!”

“Oh wow…” said Izuku as he looked at All Might’s schedule. “You even scheduled my meals and sleep.”

“Yeah.” Said All Might “It’s going to be super hard. UA’s hero course is the most difficult to get into, so we need to be prepared. Think you’re up to it?”

“Yeah.” Izuku nodded, a determined but admittedly terrified expression in his face “I have to work way harder than everyone else to get in, after all. Let’s do it!”

And so, Izuku began ten months of intense training, strengthening every muscle of his body thanks to the large variety of trash he dragged around every day. At one point, Izuku tried to add his own workouts on top so he would get even stronger, but unfortunately that only resulted in him getting overworked and exhausting himself to the point that he could barely move. Thankfully, All Might soon put him back on track.

And then, the day of the entrance exam finally arrived. All Might gaped upon arriving at Dagobah Beach and seeing that Izuku had managed to clean up not just the portion of the beach that he’d been asked, but literally all of it.

Izuku was standing atop a huge heap of the remaining trash and roaring at the sky.

…Well, okay, it was more of a high-pitched squeak, but you get the idea.

“Holy stinking… SUPERCRAP!” All Might was so impressed that went from his emaciated form to his muscle form.

Izuku stopped victory squeak-roaring and stumbled and fell from the pile he was standing on. He was caught by All Might before he could hit the ground, though.

“Damn, kid” said All Might “You managed to clean up the entire beach! You completely exceeded my expectations. And look at you! You are finally ready!” All Might gently set Izuku down and looked at him proudly.

Indeed, those ten months of training had had an effect on Izuku’s body: he’d developed quite a bit of muscle underneath all that fluff.

“Do you really think I deserve this?” Izuku asked shakily, taking All Might aback “How did I end up so lucky?”

“Young mon,” said All Might patting the Eevee gently on the back “It was your hard work that got you this far, not mine. There’s a difference between being lucky and deserving; one’s an accident, and the other a reward. And seeing all that you’ve been through, it’s safe to say that you rightly earned this.”

All Might then plucked a strand of fur from one of his ears and handed it over to Izuku.

“Eat this.”

Izuku blinked in surprise. “HUH?!”

“Ah, well, you see.” Said All Might, suddenly looking very awkward “To inherit my Quirk you need to consume some of my DNA. That’s how it works.”

“I… this is NOT how I imagined it!” Izuku squeaked.

“Come on, there’s no time to waste!” said All Might “The exam is only in a few hours, you gotta eat!”

And reluctantly, Izuku swallowed the fur.

“…That… was… so unpleasant…” said Izuku, feeling nauseated “I don’t feel any change, though.”

“Well of course not!” All Might laughed “Your body has to process the fur first. The effects should kick in after two or three hours.”

“And I still need to eat breakfast and shower…” Izuku said thoughtfully “I really should get going.”

“Wait just a sec.” said All Might “You may have molded your body into a proper vessel, but you did it in a hurry, so be careful. You haven’t even tested it out yet, and it doesn’t look like you’ll have the time to do so, and the physical backlash of Extreme Evoboost can be intense. All I can give you is this piece of advice: when you use this power, remember to clench your buttcheeks and yell ‘SMASH!’ from the top of your lungs!”

“…And that’s going to help me control the backlash?” Izuku asked hopefully.

All Might just shrugged “It works for me.”

* * *

Later that morning, Izuku found himself at the entrance of UA. Hundreds of fellow teenage Pokémon were walking in the same direction and seeing so many was pretty scary. After all, of the couple hundred or so entrants, only about forty would be accepted, meaning most would be facing disappointment. Izuku desperately wished he wouldn’t be one of those.

“Stupid Deku.”

Izuku turned around to see Kacchan glaring at him.

“Get out of my way now before I set you on fire.” Said the grumpy Typhlosion as he walked by.

Izuku squeaked a nervous greeting and let him through. The Typhlosion had mellowed out ever so slightly towards Izuku ever since the incident with the Muk villain. To Izuku, that was a good sign. Maybe deep down, Kacchan was actually grateful? Despite this, Izuku was still scared of him, fearing that what little common ground they had gained could be destroyed any second now.

 _Come on, keep it together!_ Izuku mentally scolded himself _I’m not defenseless anymore! I’ve got All Might’s Quirk now! I can do this! I’ll be a hero!_ Then Izuku immediately tripped upon taking a single step. _Oooor I’ll just die…_

But just before he was about to faceplant into the stone floor, something stopped the Eevee’s fall.

“Are you okay?”

Izuku turned his head and saw an Espurr with pink cheeks and long tufts of fur hanging from either side of her head smiling at him.

“I stopped your fall with my Quirk.” She explained as she helped Izuku get back on his feet “Sorry for not asking first, but I figured you wouldn’t mind me catching you.”

Izuku just stared dumbly at her.

“Isn’t this super nerve-wrecking?” the oblivious Espurr continued talking “By the way, I really like how you style your fur. It looks really messy, but also kind of cute somehow.”

Now Izuku was blushing so hard that he could _feel_ the red underneath his greyish-green fur. He wanted to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was squeaky stutters.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you inside!” The Espurr waved at him and continued walking. Izuku watched her enter the school building, completely incredulous at what had just happened.

“…I’m cyude.” said Izuku, whose voice had turned nasally for some reason. “I’M CYUDE! SHE SAID I’M CYUUUUUDE!” A jubilant Izuku began leaping so high into the air he looked like he was flying. Several of the other entrants stopped to stare at him in bewilderment. A Medicham even took out his phone and made a call.

“Yes, hi mom. I just wanted to tell you that I think we’re about to get a Flying-type Eeveelution…”

* * *

Once inside the exam orientation room, the entrants were loudly greeted by an Amped Form Toxtricity wearing a DJ outfit.

“Oh my Arceus, it’s the Voice Hero Present Mic!” Izuku squeed “Ican’tbelieveI’mseeinghiminpersonIlistentohisradioshoweverydayisn’titawesomehowalltheteachersatUAarefamousheroes…”

“Will you shut up?” Kacchan, who was sitting next to Izuku, groaned.

Present Mic went on to explain the rules of the practical exam: the entrants would head to designated battle centers to fight against three different types robots and earn points by destroying, immobilizing, or disabling them.

“Excuse me, sir!” a bespectacled Lucario sitting a few stands ahead of Izuku and Kacchan raised his paw “I have a question!”

“Hit me!” said Present Mic.

The Lucario stood up and held out a piece of paper “You say that there’s three faux villains, but on this printout that you gave us, there’s four different types of robots listed. Is it a mistake? Because if so it is shameful for a school as highly regarded and prestigious as this one to make such a glaring oversight!”

The Lucario then turned around and pointed an accusing finger at Izuku “And you! The Eevee with the green, unkempt fur! You’ve been muttering this whole time and it’s really distracting! Stop that!”

“Sorry…” An embarrassed Izuku covered his mouth with both front paws. Several of the entrants laughed.

“Alright!” Present Mic interrupted the awkwardness “Thank you for your request, Examinee #7111! The fourth faux villain is just an obstacle we’ll be throwing your way. It’s worth zero points. Just think of it as a hurdle that you should avoid at all costs. It’s not that it can’t be beaten, it just isn’t worth it. Ignore it and just focus on the others!”

“Thank you very much.” The Lucario bowed and sat down.

Present Mic then ended the orientation with a motivational quote and the UA motto of “Plus Ultra!” The students then headed for their respective battle centers. Izuku and Kacchan had fortunately been assigned to different ones, so at least the former wouldn’t have to deal with the latter’s angry outbursts.

Once he was standing in front of the entrance gate, though, Izuku was so nervous now that he was shaking violently.

 _Okay, this is it…_ Izuku thought to himself, _a mock battle…_

The Eevee looked around and saw that none of the other entrants seemed nervous at all, on the contrary, many looked as though they had already passed the exam with flying colors. This only made Izuku even more worried, at least until he noticed a familiar face: the Espurr girl who had stopped his fall at the school entrance.

 _I should probably thank her properly for helping me…_ Izuku thought as he stiffly walked towards her. Then, he felt something pull him by the tail. Izuku turned around and flinched when he saw that the bespectacled Lucario that had called him out before had grabbed his tail.

“That Espurr looks like she’s trying to focus on the trials ahead.” Said the Lucario in an authoritative tone “Are you planning to distract her and ruin her chances?”

“What?!” Izuku shook his head feverishly “N-no! I was just-”

“Alright everyone!” Present Mic suddenly called from atop a rooftop “Get going! There are no countdowns in real battles!”

And just like that, Izuku was promptly left behind as the entrants hurried inside the battle center. Izuku rushed to catch up, but it soon became clear just how tough and competitive this exam really was: left and right, students were destroying robots and earning points, and whenever Izuku turned to look at a faux villain, someone had already taken it out.

 _Oh man!_ Izuku panicked _. At this rate there won’t be any enemies left! I’m gonna fail!_

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A series of massive explosions demolished nearby buildings. And then, a robot so massive that it made Dynamaxed Mt. Lady look small came into view. The zero pointer.

The rest of the entrants immediately ran away in terror, but Izuku, as much as he wanted to do the same, only stood there gawking, frozen in terror. It was only when the robot inched close enough to cast its shadow over him that Izuku snapped out of his frozen state, but just as he was about to turn tail and run, he heard a scream of pain.

Izuku looked towards the direction the scream had come from and saw the friendly Espurr. A huge piece of rubble had fallen on top of her, leaving her trapped. The zero pointer was practically overhead: even if by some miracle the Espurr managed to dislodge the stone off, there was no way she would be able to escape the robot in time.

Izuku didn’t hesitate. Just like when Kacchan had been taken hostage by the Muk villain, Izuku rushed to the rescue, except this time he had a Quirk: he could realistically save someone now. Remembering All Might’s words, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost for the first time, took a huge leap, and…

“SMAAASH!”

With a single swipe of his paw, Izuku obliterated the zero pointer. Unfortunately, that moment of triumph was immediately cut short when the Eevee realized that he had shattered three limbs in the process: his back legs broken by taking that leap, and his right foreleg broken by striking the robot. And he was falling from an enormous height.

 _Well… yelling “Smash!” didn’t help control it at all…_ Izuku thought pitifully as he fell. He knew his only chance of survival would be to use Extreme Eevoboost to cushion his fall, but unfortunately, doing so would break his remaining limb and guarantee that he wouldn’t be able nab a single point.

Just as the Eevee was about to hit the ground, though, someone slapped him on the face, and suddenly Izuku was floating in midair.

“Release!” the Espurr girl grunted, letting Izuku fall safely to the ground. The effort unfortunately made her nauseous, and she promptly started vomiting.

Uttering a quick thank you to the Espurr, Izuku began crawling across the ground using his remaining uninjured limb, hoping to score at least one point before-

“TIME’S UP!” Present Mic called from somewhere above.

Izuku’s mind went blank, and through a combination of horror and the pain from his broken limbs, he promptly passed out.

* * *

Izuku didn’t remember much of what happened after the exam. The school nurse, an elderly pro-hero Chansey known as Recovery Girl had healed his injuries with her Heal Pulse Quirk while he was unconscious. Izuku went home in low spirits; although the exam’s results wouldn’t arrive until a week later, he already knew he had failed.

The rest of the week went by without fanfare, but as the day of the test results got closer, Izuku’s dread grew bigger. All Might had wasted almost an entire year’s worth of training, and Izuku had ruined everything. Even worse, Izuku hadn’t been able to get in touch with the Symbol of Peace.

Then, when the test results finally arrived, Izuku nearly tore the letter to pieces, only to learn that there was a holographic projector inside that activated as soon as it hit the floor. Izuku was then greeted by a projection of All Might. Turns out, All Might was going to be a teacher at UA! Surprise! Also, Izuku turned out to not have failed his exam at all; turns out that the whole thing wasn’t graded solely on combat, as there was an additional score awarded for acts of heroism, and Izuku saving the Espurr girl had luckily granted him just enough points to pass, even though he didn’t manage to defeat a single faux villain. Double Surprise!

Izuku couldn’t believe it. He had made it. He had really, truly, actually made it. He was going to study at the high school of his dreams. The young Eevee could feel his eyes filling up with tears.

“Welcome, Izuku Midoriya!” said the All Might projection “To the Hero Academia!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, now my choice to make Izuku an Eevee should be cleared up!


	3. Enter Absawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School day start!

At long last, the first day of school finally arrived.

“Okay, Class 1-A, Class 1-A…” Izuku muttered as he walked along the halls of UA High. He eventually found the right entrance, which was made up of nested doors of different sizes to accommodate as many different species of Pokémon as possible.

 _I wonder what kind of classmates I’ll meet here._ Izuku thought. Then he remembered Kacchan and that Lucario and gulped. _Oh, please don’t let it be those two, please don’t let it be those two…_

Izuku took a deep breath and opened the classroom door. The first thing he noticed was a familiar Lucario scolding a familiar Typhlosion.

“Hey, get your feet off that desk! You’re disrespecting school property!”

“Mind your own business, you mangy mutt!”

 _…Welp._ It took everything in Izuku’s power not to whimper outwardly at his rotten luck.

The Lucario seemed taken aback by Kacchan’s rude remark, but quickly composed himself. “Sorry. Let’s just start over. My name is Tenya Iida, it’s a pleasure to meet you-”

“Well, it’s _not_ a pleasure to meet _you_.” Kacchan scoffed “I’ll enjoy tearing your snobby attitude to pieces.”

The Lucario, Tenya Iida, rolled his eyes, then noticed that Izuku was standing at the entrance.

“Hey, it’s him.”

Suddenly, the whole class’s eyes were on Izuku, who tried to make himself even smaller than he already was. Izuku managed to get a good look at the different species he’d be taking class with; aside from Kacchan and Iida, there was also a Starmie, a pink Goodra with black sclerae and yellow irises, a green Frogadier, a yellow-furred Aipom, a Pikachu, a Midnight Form Lycanroc, a Grotle, a Slurpuff, a Barbaracle, a Noibat, a Leavanny, a Murkrow, a Vulpix that appeared to half-Alolan on his right side and half-Kantonian on his left side, a Keckleon (which Izuku could only identify as being present due to the red zigzag stripe floating in midair, as the rest of the Pokémon was invisible), a purple-colored Pansage, and a Delibird.

“Um… h-hi.” Izuku squeaked and looked away.

“Good morning!” The Lucario ran up to him “I’m Tenya Iida-”

“Y-Yeah, I know.” Izuku interrupted with a nervous smile “I’m Izuku Midoriya. It’s nice to meet you…?”

“Midoriya…” The Lucario repeated “I must apologize to you.”

“Huh?” Izuku tilted his head, confused.

“When we first met, I thought you were nothing more than an incompetent buffoon.” Iida explained “But you realized there was something more to the entrance exam than met the eye! You’re quite the perceptive one, and I must begrudgingly recognize that you’re a far superior student to me.”

Izuku was grateful for the apology, but also taken aback by the extreme formality. “You’re seriously overestimating me…” the Eevee muttered shyly.

“Oh, hey! You’re the Eevee with the cute messy fur!” said a familiar friendly voice behind Izuku. “So nice to see that you made it!”

Izuku turned around, and sure enough, behind him was the friendly Espurr girl who had saved him twice.

“Oh! H-hello! Ishouldprobablythankyouforhelpingme-” Izuku stuttered and tripped over his words.

“If you’re all just here to make friends and make small talk, you can pack up and leave.”

Izuku had been so busy stuttering that he had failed to notice the Pokémon lying behind the Espurr. Yes, _lying_ , not standing; the Pokémon was lying on the floor cocooned inside a yellow sleeping bag so that only his face, which had a large sickle-like horn growing out of one side, was visible. The Pokémon then unzipped the bag from the inside and stood up. He was an Absol with notably long and shaggy fur, and unlike most of his species, which normally had white fur and dark faces, claws, and tails, this one had the exact inverse: dark fur and a white face, tail and claws. He also looked like he hadn’t slept in days, which probably explained the whole sleeping bag thing. The Absol was also wearing a grey scarf around his neck and a utility belt around his waist.

“Alright, I’ll just cut to the chase.” Said the Absol “I’m Shota Aizawa, your homeroom teacher. I want you all to meet me outside for a Quirk Assessment Test.”

“What? A test?” cried the Espurr “But we’re gonna miss Orientation!”

The Absol scoffed “If you wanna make into the big leagues, you can’t waste time in pointless ceremonies.” He then turned around and walked into the hall “Now let’s get moving.”

* * *

Toshinori’s heart skipped a beat once he learned that young Midoriya’s homeroom teacher would be Shoto Aizawa, known better by his hero name of Eraserhead. Besides being judgmental of the media and high-profile heroes like Toshinori, Eraserhead was also an infamously strict teacher, and he was known to expel any student that didn’t meet his high standards. So much so that he had expelled way more students than any other teacher at UA combined.

 _Young Midoriya still doesn’t have any control over Extreme Evoboost._ All Might thought bitterly. _He’s going to be singled out from the start!_

Worried for his young protégé, and unsure of what else to do, All Might went looking for Class 1-A and quickly found them out on the field doing what appeared to be a physical fitness test but with Quirks. As Toshinori feared, Aizawa declared that whoever had the lowest score would be expelled on the spot.

 _Arceusdamnit._ Toshinori watched from a convenient hiding spot as Midoriya completed each exercise without using Extreme Evoboost whereas every other student used their Quirks to gain high scores. Toshinori could tell that the young Eevee was desperately trying his best, but no matter what he couldn’t seem to be able activate his power unless he did so at the literally bone-shattering 100%...

Finally, the students moved on to a ball-throwing test. Toshinori watched Midoriya activate his power only for Aizawa to use his Quirk, Leer, to cancel it out. The Absol used his scarf to ensnare the Eevee and then took him aside and said something that All Might couldn’t make out, though judging by the expressions on both Pokémon’s faces, Midoriya was getting a rather harsh lecture.

Aizawa let his student go and gave him back the ball so he could finish the test, and Midoriya’s demeanor seemed to change. He looked more focused and determined now. Toshinori watched as the young Eevee took a deep breath and threw the ball, which flew over the horizon, the force of the throw potent enough to cause a strong gust of wind. More amazingly, however, Midoriya had managed to not break his limb… well okay, no, that was a lie: Midoriya _had_ broken something, but thanks to focusing his power only on his toes, he had minimized the damage to his foreleg to the best of his ability. Toshinori noticed that Aizawa was smiling, which calmed him down a little; if Midoriya had impressed Aizawa enough, maybe he would get to stay.

A student named Katsuki Bakugo, who Toshinori recognized as the same Typhlosion he had saved months ago, approached Midoriya rather aggressively, though he was stopped by Aizawa, who erased the youngster’s Quirk and restrained him with his scarf.

 _Huh._ Toshinori found young Bakugo’s reaction interesting, to put it lightly. _I think young Midoriya talked to me about this guy…_ Apparently the two had known each other since they were little, but once Bakugo manifested his Quirk and Midoriya failed to develop any, their friendship went sour. This level of antagonism was rather unprecedented, though; to Toshinori it appeared that that had Aizawa not stopped him, Bakugo would have hurt Midoriya…

Once the tests were over, Aizawa displayed the results on a huge holographic screen. Predictably, since his broken toes had hindered his performance in the remaining tests, Midoriya came in last place.

“By the way, I lied.” Toshinori heard Aizawa say “No one’s going home. It was just a logical deception to get you all to perform your best.”

The class erupted in a mixture of indignant screams and sights of relief. Midoriya in particular looked just about ready to pass out from shock. Toshinori, meanwhile, just stared at the whole scene unamused.

_Yeah, sure, Aizawa. “Logical deception” my spiky yellow ass…_

Aizawa gave Midoriya a piece of paper -a note to see Recovery Girl, no doubt- and dismissed the class before leaving. Toshinori waited from his hiding place.

“Aizawa, that was a rotten move!” an indignant Toshinori said once the Absol approached.

“All Might. So, you were watching. What, no talk shows today?” Aizawa deadpanned.

“Can it, _Eraserhead_.” Toshinori snapped “We both know there was no ‘rational deception’ or whatever you call it. You expelled _an entire freshman class_ last year, for crying out loud! You _were_ going to send last place home!” All Might narrowed his eyes “So that can only mean… you see potential in young Midoriya, don’t you?”

“Wow, it’s only the first day of school and that Midoriya kid is already a teacher’s pet.” said a bemused Aizawa “You do know that it’s highly unprofessional to play favorites, right All Might?”

The Jolteon flinched.

“Look, I get that you likely feel kinship with Midoriya because his species is yours’ pre-evolved form, but you really should put aside such biases.” Said Aizawa, who then resumed walking “I admit, the kid does have potential. If he didn’t, I would have sent him home in a heartbeat. It’s just cruel to allow a kid to keep dreaming of something that will never come true.”

Toshinori watched as the Absol disappeared from his line of sight. In his own unique way, Aizawa was a kindhearted Pokémon, but in Toshinori’s humble opinion, the guy was a little too strict sometimes. Young Midoriya may have managed to impress him now, but he was evidently not in the clear just yet. The poor Eevee was going to be climbing an even steeper uphill battle than Toshinori had anticipated.

* * *

The school day was finally over, and Izuku Midoriya felt completely exhausted and couldn’t wait to get home and take a nice, long nap. As it turns out, Recovery Girl’s Heal Pulse simply accelerated the natural healing process of a Pokémon’s body, meaning it took a lot of energy from the patient, leaving them exhausted.

Izuku stopped walking when he felt someone tap him on his back. He turned around and saw Iida staring at him.

“How’s your broken paw?” the Lucario asked.

“Oh!” said Izuku, lifting up his paw for Iida to see “It’s doing fine thanks to Recovery Girl!”

“That’s good to hear.” The Lucario smiled “You know, I was worried about Aizawa’s approach to teaching, but then again, this is the prestigious UA… I guess I must trust the school’s judgment: it is the top program for a reason, after all. That said, lying to students is just downright immoral…”

Izuku smiled despite himself. Iida had seemed scary the first time the two met, but the truth was he was just trying to be serious. Emphasis on trying.

“Hey! Wait up you two!”

Izuku and Iida turned around to see the friendly Espurr girl run up to them.

“Are you guys going to the station? Let me join you!” said the Espurr.

“Oh, you’re the Infinity Girl. Sure, you can come!” said Iida.

“Oh, I just realized I never introduced myself!” said the Espurr “I’m Ochako Uraraka! And I know that you’re Tenya Iida and… Deku Midoriya, right?”

“D-Deku?!” a shocked Izuku repeated.

“Yeah… wasn’t that what that Typhlosion, Bakugo, called you?” Uraraka asked.

“Um, well, my name is actually Izuku. ‘Deku’ is just what Kacchan calls me to make fun of me.” Izuku explained.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that! I’m sorry!” said Uraraka “I just thought ‘Deku’ was such a cute word. It kinda has a ‘never give up!’ vibe to it!”

“Deku it is!” Izuku said, blushing heavily.

“What? But didn’t you just say it was an insult?” said a confused Iida.

Izuku covered his face with his paws “Paradigm shift! My whole world is upside down!”

Once he got over the shock, Izuku resumed walking with his two new friends at either side of him, and the young Eevee could not be happier: sure, the first day of high school had been tough, but he had made it through. He couldn’t wait to see what UA had in store for him tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know. Next ones will be way longer.


	4. Little Heroes vs Big Villains, a Completely Harmless Simulation

“I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!”

After an entire morning of normal classes, the afternoon hero course was a breath of fresh air for the young students, and seeing _the_ All Might -wearing his Silver Age costume, no less- as a teacher was only icing on top of the awesome cake. Even Izuku couldn’t help but nerd out, despite having known All Might for almost a year now.

“Today’s lesson will pull no punches, kids!” said All Might “We’ll be doing combat training!”

The students all cheered. Well, all except Izuku, who was already brainstorming how to make use of his incredibly unstable Quirk. He did perk up a bit when All Might said that they’d all be wearing their hero costumes.

“Get yourselves suited up, and then meet me at Training Ground Beta!” said All Might.

Of course, due to their anatomy, several of the students’ costumes amounted to little more than utility belts or miscellaneous accessories, but somehow everyone managed to look cool regardless.

“Ugh. Figures you would wear such a lame and ugly costume, Deku.” Kacchan -whose costume consisted of grenade-like gauntlets, a neck brace, and a bunch of belts that formed an X over his chest- said upon seeing the Eevee in his green jumpsuit. “Seriously, it looks like your mom made that for you.”

“Well, she did, actually…” Izuku muttered, looking down at his paws. It was true, too: Izuku’s mother had seen her son’s sketches of costume ideas and made a hero outfit for Izuku as not only a present to congratulate him for getting into UA, but as a way to apologize for not giving him proper support in the past. So to Izuku his hero outfit was a precious thing, even if it wasn’t made by a professional clothing company.

“Well, _I_ think your costume’s cute, Deku!” said Uraraka, who was wearing a white, pink, and black-colored space-themed suit that looked _adorable_ on her.

“T-thanks!” said a blushing Izuku “You look pretty girl- I MEAN PRETTY GOOD! YOU LOOK PRETTY GOOD TOO ohmyArceusI’msosorry….”

“ _Ahem_!” All Might loudly cleared his throat to get the class’s attention, thankfully sparing Izuku from further embarrassment “Let’s get started now, ya bunch of newbies!”

All Might proceeded to explain the exercise: the class would be divided into teams of two, and then two of those teams would be pitted against each other, with one team playing the heroes trying to reclaim a weapon, and the other team playing the villains trying to defend the weapon. There was a time limit of 15 minutes.

Much to Izuku’s surprise (and yes, joy), he had been paired up with Uraraka. With her as his partner, Izuku wanted to leave a good impression, however, his spirits immediately dampened when it turned out that not only would his and Uraraka’s team be up first, but they had been pitted against the team of Tenya Iida and Kacchan. Since Izuku and Uraraka played the hero team, they were instructed to wait outside the designated building while Kacchan and Iida got into position.

“Remember,” said All Might to Iida and Kacchan before they entered the building “the key to your team’s success is to embody villainy, but this is still a mock battle, so if things go too far, I’ll step in.”

* * *

Katsuki was furious. Furious and confused. Deku was Quirkless. That’s what the pediatrician’s official diagnosis had been according to everyone. So why did the damn nerd suddenly have a power now?! True, there was the possibility that Deku was just an extraordinarily late bloomer, but Katsuki had never heard of any Pokémon having to wait until 15 years of age for a Quirk to manifest. What’s more, Deku’s Quirk did not match at all to either of his parents’ supposed Quirks; Katsuki knew that Deku’s mother’s Quirk was Telekinesis, and while he’d never met the nerd’s father, he’d been told the guy’s was Flamethrower. Meanwhile, this Quirk of Deku’s was clearly a physical power-type with no similarity to either of his parents’ abilities. While there _were_ odd cases where children developed Quirks completely different to their parents’, for Deku to be both a late-bloomer AND someone with a mutant Quirk was just too big of a coincidence as far as Katsuki was concerned.

It’s why part of Katsuki was glad that he’d been pitted against Deku for the training exercise: he’d get to experience the extent of the nerd’s power first-paw.

“Even though this is just a simulation, it pains me to align with criminal behavior.” Katsuki’s stuck-up snob of a teammate interrupted the Typhlosion’s thoughts. Katsuki watched as the Lucario approached the nuclear missile that the two were supposed to be guarding.

“Fake, of course.” The Lucario said after giving it a few knocks.

“Hey.” Said Katsuki “Do you really think Deku has a Quirk?”

The stupid dog gave him a confused look “You saw how he threw that ball yesterday.” He answered “Of course he has a Quirk! True, it’s a very odd one, since it appears to hurt his body rather severely, but still. Why is it that Midoriya makes you so angry, anyway?”

Katsuki didn’t answer. He was too busy thinking about the implications of Deku’s sudden newfound power. Ever since the two had been little kids, Katsuki had always been the better of the two at everything. The best Deku could hope for was to be the follower, and even that was out of his reach once it had been revealed that he was Quirkless. But now things were different. Deku _had_ a Quirk after all. Real power. He could potentially fight back now. What if this flipped the script around? What if Deku ended up surpassing Katsuki in every way? …No. That wouldn’t happen. It _couldn’t_ happen. But Katsuki had to be sure. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

“Listen.” He said to his partner “You stay here and defend the weapon. I have something to do.”

“Wait, hold on.” Said the Lucario “We’re supposed to be a team! Let’s actually make a plan together and come up with the best strategy to win. If the idea is for one of us to intercept the hero team before they get here, then wouldn’t it be best for me to go instead? After all, my Quirk is Extremespeed; I could probably apprehend those two before-”

“I SAID YOU STAY HERE AND DEFEND THE WEAPON!” Katsuki snapped. Then without waiting for an answer, the Typhlosion stormed out the door.

_I’m gonna ROAST that useless nerd today!_ Katsuki decided.

* * *

Outside the building, Izuku and Uraraka made small talk strategy. The two had been given the building’s floor plan so they could formulate a plan. Unfortunately, Izuku was so nervous of who the two were up against that it was hard for him to focus.

“You know,” said Uraraka, looking up from her paper “All Might is just as cool in person as he is on TV! Plus, it’s great that he’s not threatening us with a punishment if we lo- why are you shaking?”

“Oh, well. Um.” Izuku stuttered “It’s because… we’re up against Kacchan. Plus, there’s Iida too. We should be on our guard. Who knows what they’ll pull. Especially Kacchan.”

“Oh, right.” Uraraka nodded, her tone one of concern “You mean Bakugo. He’s the guy who tried to attack you yesterday.”

“And he’s so cool...” Izuku sighed. “He’s a real pain for sure, but his strength, his confidence, not to mention his Quirk… they’re all so much greater than mine.” Izuku then literally shook off his nerves and steeled his resolve “But that just means I have to do better! I refuse to lose today!”

Uraraka smiled “So it’s a fated battle between rivals. All right!”

Oh. Right. This was a _team_ exercise. Izuku had been so caught up in his rivalry with Kacchan that he’d forgotten about Uraraka. Stupid!

“Sorry!” he said, “I didn’t mean to drag you into my conflict!”

Uraraka simply shook her head, the smile on her face not fading “Are you kidding? We’re a team! Let’s get in there and win this!”

Just then, an alarm went off, signaling that it was time for the exercise to begin.

Izuku and Uraraka entered the building’s fourth floor by climbing up a window. There were a lot of corners and blind spots, so the duo preceded carefully. Izuku thought carefully as he walked through the halls; because he still had no control over Extreme Evoboost, he didn’t want to use it for this exercise. Otherwise, at best Izuku would end up incapacitating himself and he and Uraraka would lose, and at worst he could very well kill someone. Izuku shuddered at the thought. They’d just have to win this by relying on Uraraka’s Psychic, and whatever Izuku could accomplish without a Quirk.

Suddenly, a rampaging Kacchan jumped out of a corner and attacked with Lava Plume, Izuku only barely had time to get himself and Uraraka out of the way. Thankfully, neither had sustained any damage, but half of Izuku’s mask had been burned off.

“What’s the matter, Deku?” Kacchan snarled “Afraid to fight me face to face?”

“I knew you would try to catch us by surprise, Kacchan…” Izuku muttered as he got back on his feet.

“I’m gonna hurt you so bad, they’ll have to stop this fight!” cried Kacchan as he charged towards Izuku. Unfortunately, the Eevee was prepared to counterattack, so he too ran towards Kacchan and rammed into the Typhlosion’s stomach.

Furious, Kacchan tried to take a swipe at Izuku, only for the latter to bite into the former’s paw and use the momentum to judo-flip him into the ground.

Panting from the effort of flipping around an opponent several times his size, Izuku took a fighting stance. “You can call me Deku, but I’m not the same defenseless kid anymore, Kacchan!” he declared “From now on, ‘Deku’ is the name of a hero!”

Growling, the Typhlosion got to his feet and faced Izuku, immediately noticing that the Eevee was trembling despite his brave words.

“You’re scared out of your mind. But you’re going to fight me anyway.” Said Kacchan, snarling with anger. Then he shouted his next sentence “THAT’S WHY I HATE YOU!”

“Uraraka, go ahead without me! I’ll hold him off!” cried Izuku just as Kacchan readied another attack. Izuku managed to block it and after some hesitation, Uraraka ran towards the exit and headed for the stairs.

“Ballsy move!” said Kacchan “You really think you can take me alone?!”

Izuku said nothing. He knew his chances of beating Kacchan by himself were low, but it was honestly the best plan: if he and Uraraka tried to fight him together, they’d likely run out of time, and if they both tried to find the weapon, they’d have to face not just Kacchan, but Iida. So, the best option was for Uraraka to find the weapon while Izuku dealt with the rogue Kacchan. Izuku just hoped that his analytical skills would be enough, and he wouldn’t have to resort to using Extreme Evoboost.

Kacchan delivered a kick, but Izuku managed to dodge it and feinted Kacchan by wrapping the capture tape he’d been given at the start of the exercise around Kacchan’s ankle. Just as Izuku expected, Kacchan got impatient and tried to counter, only for Izuku to move out of the way. Then Izuku ran, trying to put some distance between him and Kacchan so he’d have enough time to properly come up with a battle plan. Kacchan ran after him, but thanks to the large number of corridors, Izuku managed to lose his pursuer.

“DAMMIT!” Izuku heard Kacchan yell “YOU WERE TRICKING ME FOR YEARS BY ACTING WEAK! THEN YOU’VE BEEN LAUGHING BEHIND MY BACK, HUH? WHERE’S THAT FLASHY POWER OF YOURS NOW?!”

Izuku stopped running and crouched down, keeping himself close to the wall.

“STOP HIDING!” Kacchan called from somewhere. “COME OUT AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!!!”

Izuku remembered the day he met All Might, and how earlier Kacchan had learned about Izuku’s desire to get into UA and threatened him for it. Izuku had told Kacchan that he never intended to compete against him.

_You know what, Kacchan?_ Izuku said to himself _I take back_ everything _I said!_

_“Um, Deku?”_ that was Uraraka, talking to him via a communicator that All Might had given to them prior to the exercise’s start.

“I’m here. How’s it going?”

_“Iida knows that I’m here. Sorry… I let my guard down. It’s just so funny seeing him try to act like a bad guy! He’s even monologuing right now.”_

“It’s alright, we’ll think of something.” Izuku reassured his teammate “Where are you?”

_“In the middle of the fifth floor.”_

_Oh! That’s right above me!_ Izuku was already brainstorming an idea “Alright, hold on.”

Izuku got to his feet and carefully peeked out of a corner to see if his pursuer was coming. Nothing. Then, he heard a clicking noise right behind him.

“I’m all loaded up.”

Izuku turned around and sure enough, there was Kacchan. The Typhlosion was holding up a fist, showing off the grenade-like gauntlet that was part of his hero attire.

“What does that mean?” Izuku asked, though he had a sinking feeling that he really didn’t want to know the answer.

Kacchan smirked “You’ve known me for years, Deku. You should already know how my Quirk Lava Plume works. My sweat is flammable and that’s what creates the fiery explosions. So, imagine what I could do if I had a lot of it!”

_Uh oh. Is he really going to-!_

“That’s right, these gauntlets aren’t just to look cool! Although they very much do.” Kacchan said as he began to pull the gauntlet’s trigger “They’ve been storing up my sweat for a giant monster blast!”

_“Young Bakugo, don’t!”_ All Might’s voice called from the building’s speakers _“You’ll kill him!”_

“He’ll be fine as long as he dodges!” Kacchan finished pulling off the trigger, releasing a truly massive explosion.

Izuku only barely had time to get out of the way. The explosion destroyed a huge chunk of the floor’s walls, including one that led outside. The explosion was so powerful that even though Izuku managed to avoid the full brunt of the blast, he was still singed by the heat, and the force of the blast was enough to knock him on his back.

_“Come in! Come in, Midoriya!”_ All Might’s alarmed voice reverberated through the floor. Or well, what was left of it.

Izuku slowly and with some effort got back to his feet. The rest of his costume’s mask had been burned off by the blast, and although the rest of the costume had managed to survive, part of it, mostly the sleeves, had been burned off.

“How… how is that even allowed?!” the Eevee squeaked as he watched Kacchan’s silhouette approach him through the smoke.

“These are awesome!” Kacchan said with delight “The more sweat I store, the stronger the explosion!” The smoke finally cleared, and Izuku could see that Kacchan had a horribly deranged smile on his face.

“Go ahead! Use your stupid Quirk on me, Deku!” the Typhlosion said “Even if you give me everything you’ve got, you’ll never beat me!”

Izuku could only stare at his adversary in fear. He was out of options…

“What’s the matter?” Kacchan taunted “You look scared! But you dodged the attack, so you can still fight, right? Come and get me!”

Izuku knew better than to do _that_. Now that he knew that Kacchan could use his power at a much longer range than normal, trying to fight him head to head would be suicide. He wasn’t safe in a close fight. He wasn’t safe keeping his distance. What now? …Then, Izuku got an idea.

“Come in, what’s the situation?” Izuku spoke to his partner via communicator.

_“It’s not good!”_ Uraraka answered _“I’ve been trying to get the weapon, but Iida’s just too fast! If only I had objects to use my Quirk on…”_

“You’re ignoring me?!” Kacchan snarled “I’ll get your attention!” he aimed his gauntlet and readied another mega blast.

_“Bakugo! You cause another explosion like that and I’ll stop this fight! Your team will lose!”_ That was All Might again.

“Hold on, what?!” Kacchan exclaimed.

_“To employ such a strong attack indoors, inviting the destruction of a stronghold that you should be protecting is a poor strategy! Whether you’re a hero OR a villain! The penalty will be a massive loss of points!”_

Kacchan trembled with rage “FINE! WE’LL JUST FIGHT PAW TO PAW!” then he charged at Izuku, who only just finished telling his plan to his partner, giving the Eevee no time to dodge.

Izuku tried to counterattack Kacchan the same way he’d done so at the start of the fight, but this time his opponent was prepared, and swiftly moved out of the way and attacked Izuku from another angle, blasting him away with a close-range Lava Plume. Izuku cried out in pain.

Kacchan attacked again, though this time he didn’t use his Quirk and simply slashed at Izuku’s face with his right paw before grabbing him by the tail and slamming him into the floor repeatedly.

“Don’t! You! Forget! What! You! Are! Deku! You’re a WEAKLING!” Katsuku yelled in between beatings, making sure to put emphasis on the last word, upon which he threw Izuku aside, sending the Eevee tumbling across the floor.

_He’s not giving me any time to formulate a strategy!_ Izuku thought desperately as he struggled to stand back up. _I can’t beat him without a Quirk after all…_

Once he was finally on his feet, Izuku ran towards a nearby window and turned to face Kacchan.

“Why won’t you use your damn Quirk against me?!” Kacchan snarled as he cornered Izuku “Do you really still think you can stop me without it?!”

“No. That’s not it.” Izuku muttered and braced himself. Just a little bit more…

“You’ve been hiding your true power for years. What’s the deal, Deku?!” Kacchan was now moving at a faster pace “Did you think you were better than me this entire time?!”

Okay, now Izuku was angry.

“THAT’S what you think?!” he snapped, tears began filling his eyes and mildly blurring his vision “You idiot! Do you really think I enjoyed getting constantly beat up and made fun of?! If I had developed a Quirk earlier you can bet that I wouldn’t have hidden it!”

“Well, you have one now, so COME AT ME!” Kacchan was now running at full sprint, and Izuku did the same thing.

The two Pokémon activated their respective Quirks when they were only inches away from each other. However, Izuku diverted the blast of his at the last second -while only barely avoiding the worst of the Typhlosion’s Lava Plume- and directed it upwards, blowing holes through all the upper floors and causing debris to fly up and giving Uraraka enough ammo for her to use in her assault to distract Iida and reclaim the weapon just before time ran out.

“Damn it. This was your big plan all along…” said Kacchan as he stared incredulously at the ceiling. “You were just toying with me!”

“No…” Izuku panted. His right foreleg was broken, so he had to support himself in only three legs. But the rest of his body was also in extreme pain; Kacchan’s assault was finally catching up to him. “I wasn’t… going to use it… at first… because I can’t control it… my body can’t handle… the backlash of my power yet… Aizawa-sensei told me that I would only be a burden… but this… was the only thing… I could think of…”

Then, Izuku could no longer stand anymore; he fell to the ground, his vision going black. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was All Might’s triumphant voice.

“The Hero Team WINS!”


	5. Socializing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Fluffy Boy hangs out with his new friends

Slowly, Izuku opened his eyes to unsurprisingly find himself at the nurse’s office. His right foreleg was encased in a cast and wrapped in bandages, and there was an IV attached to his left. Then he saw the clock and realized it was already late afternoon.

Recovery Girl discharged him, telling Izuku that she couldn’t use her Quirk to heal his broken bones in one go this time due to the other injuries he had sustained. He’d have to see her the next day for more treatment.

 _I missed all my afternoon classes… Aizawa-sensei is gonna kill me…_ Izuku thought bitterly as he limped back to his classroom.

“Hey, it’s the mon of the hour!” someone said just as Izuku opened the door. Next thing the Eevee knew, he had almost half the class surrounding him.

“Dude, you were awesome in your match!” said the Midnight Lycanroc.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you held your own against Bakugo without resorting to using your Quirk till the very end!” said the Leavanny. “That guy’s incredibly tough, so major kudos!”

“Don’t forget about how he flipped him over!” said the Goodra “No joke, I tried to lift Bakugo right after the match just to make sure his insides weren’t made of helium or something! He… got real mad at me for that one, to put it lightly. You’re so strong for someone so tiny, Midoriya!”

“Your performance got us all fired up, so none of us held back in our matches either!” said the Slurpuff “So thanks for that!”

“You were far from elegant, but you were still _trés magnifique_! I suppose…” said the Starmie.

Izuku only stood there, mouth agape with shock, looking back and forth at each classmate’s smiling, ecstatic face. This was completely unreal. Back in his middle school days, Izuku was at best ignored and at worst made into someone’s punching bag. Now he was getting _praised_ by his classmates as though he was already the class star player.

“Hi, I’m Eijiro Kirishima!” said the Lycanroc “We’ve been going over training results while you were recovering! I’ll be glad to fill you in on all the stuff you missed!”

“I’m Hanta Sero!” said the Leavanny.

“And I’m Mina Ashido!” said the Goodra with a cheerful leap. “And I just gotta say, your dodging was awesome!”

“I’m Tsuyu Asui.” Said the Frogadier “But you can call me Tsuyu-chan.”

“Hey, Rikidou Sato here!” said the Slurpuff.

“Uh… h-hello! N-nice to meet everyone!” Izuku managed a nervous smile.

“Another thing,” said the Goodra, Ashido, “I was thinking about inviting everyone to the arcade tonight. You know, so we can all get to know each other better now that we’re all classmates! You wanna come? Most of the class will be going.”

Izuku’s ears perked up. He was getting invited to hang out. Izuku couldn’t remember the last time that had happened; even back when he was a toddler he mostly just tagged along while other kids sort-of put up with him.

“S-sure!” he said after a pause “I’ll have to let my mom know, of course.”

“Great, then it’s settled!” Ashido beamed.

“Hold on.” Said Sero “Isn’t it a bit unfair? Midoriya has a broken limb, so won’t that get in the way of him playing games? Maybe we should pick some other place…”

“Nah.” Said Kirishima “There’s plenty of games that can pe played three-legged, so as long as we stick to those it should be fine!”

Just then, Uraraka entered the classroom accompanied by the Pikachu student. They were both carrying textbooks.

“Oh, Deku!” Uraraka ran up to Izuku “Why aren’t your injuries fully healed?”

“Well, it has to do with how much stamina I can spare.” Said Izuku “By the way, where’s Kacchan? I don’t see him anywhere.”

“Oh, Bakugo just went home.” Said Uraraka “We tried to stop him from leaving, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Izuku’s heart sank. After what happened at the exercise, Izuku had been hoping to talk to Kacchan and hopefully clear up a few things. Wordlessly, he ran outside the classroom and headed downstairs, hoping to catch Kacchan before he left. Luckily, Izuku found him just as he was leaving the school doors.

“Kacchan, wait up!” Izuku called.

The Typhlosion turned around and face him with a glare. “What?”

“I… have to tell you something.” Izuku sighed “I wasn’t hiding my Quirk from you.”

“Yes, you already said that.” Kacchan rolled his eyes.

“That’s not just it, though.” Said Izuku. “This power… it was given to me by someone else recently. I can’t tell you from who, though. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. That’s why I don’t have any control over it yet, and also why I didn’t want to use it against you during the exercise, not because I was underestimating you…”

Kacchan stared at him, his expression unreadable. Izuku took a deep breath and resumed speaking.

“But you’ll see: one day I’ll have full control over this borrowed Quirk, and I’ll finally beat you with my own power, fair and square!”

Izuku flinched when he realized just what he had said to Kacchan. He hadn’t meant it, but his explanation had just come out more like some declaration of war. Oops.

“…Are you fucking _high_ , Deku?! Like, actually, literally fucking high?!” said Kacchan after what felt like an eternity of silence.

Okay, that was _not_ the response that Izuku was expecting. “W-what?”

“Just how dumb do you think I am?” said Kacchan “‘Borrowed power’? Please, like I’d believe _that_ kind of bullshit fantasy. You already made a fool out of me in the exercise. Did you just come here to make a joke about it and rub my loss in my face?!”

Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it shut when he saw how livid the Typhlosion was. Best not to anger him more.

“I LOST!” Kacchan shouted “And to make matters worse it was to YOU! DAMN IT! I even agreed with what that Delibird said about my attack! I was too reckless! And then, when I saw that Vulpix in action I realized I couldn’t beat him in a fight!” The Typhlosion’s eyes were now sparkling with tears “Enjoy that win, Deku, because you won’t get another!” he then turned around to leave.

“There you are!” a large, yellow figure rushed past Izuku, nearly blowing him away.

All Might stopped just in front of Kacchan. “Bakugo!” he said, “I found you!”

“Out of my way, All Might.” Kacchan growled “If you’re here to give me a speech, save it. I’ll become the #1 Hero, and I’ll do it without your help!”

Shocked by the hostility, All Might wordlessly stepped aside and allowed Kacchan to continue walking, then as soon as the Typhlosion was out of view, he turned towards Izuku.

“So, young Midoriya” said the Jolteon, “What did you tell him just now?”

“Oh! Um-uh n-nothing!” said Izuku, grinning nervously like an idiot.

All Might arched an eyebrow. He clearly didn’t buy it, of course. Izuku sighed.

“…Okay. I mmmmaaybe kiiiiinda ssssooorta told him that my power isn’t natural? Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him that I got it from you.”

All Might gave Izuku a stern look “Kid. Literally one of the first things I told you about Extreme Evoboost was that it being passed on is supposed to be a top secret! Then you go blabbing about it?”

“I’m sorry!” said Izuku “It’s just… Kacchan was so angry. We’ve known each other for years, so when Quirkless me suddenly turned out to have a power, he thought I was playing a cruel prank on him… I just felt like I owed him some form of explanation…”

All Might sighed. “Alright. I understand. He didn’t seem to take you seriously, so I think it’ll be okay. Just promise you will keep your muzzle shut from now on.”

Izuku promised. Aside from Kacchan, he had managed to keep Extreme Evoboost a complete secret even from his own mother. And besides, he still hadn’t told Kacchan everything, so it was all good, right?

* * *

“Midoriya! You made it!” Ashido greeted Izuku with a joyful grin. “Come on! You’re the last to arrive!”

Izuku wagged his tail shyly in greeting at his classmates, who cheered at finally getting to let loose and have fun.

“Midoriya, hey!” Iida and Uraraka ran up to his side “Good to see you!”

Izuku smiled “Good to see you guys too! So, all of our classmates came here?”

“No.” Ashido shook her head “Almost everyone did, but Bakugo and Todoroki declined my invitation.”

“Todoroki?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, he’s the half-Kantonian, half-Alolan Vulpix.” Said Iida “He was one of the two students in our class to be admitted to UA on recommendations.”

“I see.” Said Izuku thoughtfully “Kacchan mentioned him today. Something about not being able to beat him.”

“Huh. I guess that’s because Todoroki practically won the whole exercise by himself.” Said Uraraka “All his partner really did was detect the position of their opponents. Then Todoroki froze the entire building and instantly sealed the victory.”

“I remember that.” said Ashido with a light tremble “Pretty sure I almost caught a cold because of that.”

“Yeah, same here!” Iida chuckled. “Anyway, we should probably talk about this later with the rest of the class. For now, we should all just enjoy ourselves!”

And so, the four of them went to play games with the rest of Class 1-A. Just like Kirishima had promised earlier that day, the class made sure to pick games that Izuku could play with his current handicap. Of course, that meant that some fun-looking ones such as DDR were out of the question, but Izuku was having a blast just hanging out with his classmates. Eventually, though, several Pokémon started getting hungry, so the games had to stop so everyone could eat dinner. The students all went together to a nearby fast food joint and each one paid for their food.

It was during dinnertime that the kids had a chance to talk, and Izuku got to know the rest of the classmates that hadn’t already introduced themselves to him. Most of their early conversation was about how insane UA had been so far; with Aiwaza-sense’s strictness and threats of expulsion, followed immediately by a combat training exercise that literally started with a bang, it already felt like a lot had happened, but it had only been two days since classes started.

“Anyway, what are you guys’ thoughts on evolution?” said the Kecleon, whose name was Toru Hagakure “My species doesn’t evolve, so I’ve always been really curious as to what Pokémon belonging to species that do evolve think.”

“Well, I can’t speak for everyone else” said Kirishima “But once I decided to apply for UA, I wanted to be at my maximum possible strength, and what better way to do so than by evolving? Evolution does increase a Pokémon’s overall power, after all, and that includes their Quirk.”

“You can’t just go and rush it, though.” Said Mashirao Ojiro “Remember that evolution can often come with drastic changes to a Pokémon’s anatomy, meaning that the power boost you get can ultimately be moot if you have to relearn basic movements practically from scratch. Take my species for example; when I evolve into Ambipom, I’ll gain two tails, and both will be much longer and more flexible than the one I have now, but the trade-off is that they’re trickier to control, so I think It’d be best for me to hold off on evolving until I have fully mastered the use of my one tail.” Ojiro flexed his tail, which looked quite sturdy and muscular, proudly “After all, it is the body part that I use Iron Tail with.”

“Yeah, I’m on a similar boat.” Said Kyoka Jiro “I want to get stronger in this stage before I become a Noivern.”

“That’s quite sensible of you two.” Iida said, nodding sagely “I admit I may have been too hasty on my evolution. I come from a long line of Lucario pro-heroes, so I guess I was a bit too eager to uphold my family legacy.”

“Hold on, ‘family legacy’?” Uraraka tilted her head “Iida, does that mean that you come from money?”

Iida flinched, then sighed. “I was afraid I would be treated differently, but yes. Are any of you familiar with the pro-hero Ingenium?”

“Oh, I know all about him!” Izuku couldn’t help but geek out “He’s a chivalrous pro whose charisma has earned him dozens of sidekicks working alongside him!” then Izuku was struck by a realization that he felt really stupid for not noticing sooner “Wait. Ingenium is a Lucario with an Extremespeed Quirk… and _you_ are a Lucario with an Extremespeed Quirk, Iida… OhmyArceusdon’ttellme-”

“Yep!” Iida said proudly “Ingenium is my elder brother!”

The whole class erupted in a series of “whoahs” and “oohs” in admiration of Iida. How cool was it that one of their classmates was related to a real pro?

“In that case, I don’t blame you for wanting to evolve.” Said Uraraka “If I was related to a pro-hero that was fully evolved, I’d probably evolve at the first chance too.”

“Well, evolution pretty much boils down to each individual Pokémon knowing themselves well.” Said Momo Yaoyorozu “And while it’s true that evolution can sometimes make certain Quirks more difficult to control and master, there are other times where the exact opposite is true, and it makes using them easier. Take Mezo Shoji, for example.” Yaoyorozu gestured towards the Barbaracle sitting next to her “I bet that his Quirk is _much_ easier and more versatile to use now than it ever could have been if he were still a Binacle.”

Shoji looked impressed, and he nodded “Yes, you basically nailed it. As a Binnacle I only had one extra arm to transform, but now that I have multiple, I can multitask quite easily.”

Yaoyorozu smiled “Like Hagakure, my species doesn’t evolve either, so it’s not a burden I’ll ever have to face, but I can say this: evolve only when you feel you’re ready, and like Ojiro said, be aware of the drawbacks your evolved form might bring. In fact, sometimes the prospect of evolving can be so daunting that a few individuals outright never do it even when they’re fully capable. Either that or they’re just satisfied with their current form as is.”

Everyone was momentarily silenced in awe of the Delibird’s wise words. No wonder she had been admitted to UA on recommendations…

“Damn, here you guys are talking about some deep stuff regarding why to evolve or not, and then there’s me, whose only reason for staying unevolved is because I find my current stage to be much cooler and cuter than Raichu…” Kaminari pouted.

“To be fair, I don’t want to evolve either for similar reasons.” Said Fumikage Tokoyami “Honckrow just doesn’t fit my dark aesthetic as well.”

“I evolved because I figured I’d have better mobility as a Goodra.” Said Ashido “And I was right! It’s so much easier to dance when you have feet!”

“I have to admit that the only reason I haven’t evolved is just because I’m a bit afraid to do so.” Uraraka said, fiddling with her ears “Part of me really wants to, but I just don’t feel ready. And the thing is, I don’t know if and when I’ll _ever_ feel ready…”

“Don’t worry,” Asui said with a smile “I’m sure you’ll know when the time is right. It doesn’t have to be today, heck, maybe it won’t be this year or the next. But even if you do decide to never evolve, it’ll be alright. Plenty of Pokémon become strong without evolving.”

“Thanks, Tsuyu-chan!” Uraraka beamed.

“What about you? Koji Koda, was it?” Satou said to the Grotle sitting next to him “You’ve already evolved once, but you could still become a Torterra. Think you’d be up for it?”

Koda shook his head.

“Why not?” asked Satou “Is it because Torterra is too big or something?”

Koda just shrugged.

“Oh. Well, I guess you can tell us later.”

“As for me,” Said the purple Pansage, whose name was Minoru Mineta “My current form is too adorable, and it would be a sin to change it. Ladies love cuteness, after all, so I have better chances at winning them over if I stay small and cute.”

“There’s a difference between looking cute and being cute.” Said Yaoyorozu, whose voice was dripping with barely withheld contempt “And you are most definitely NOT cute.”

“Aw, come on, babe.” Said Mineta, wiggling his eyebrows seductively “It’s not my fault your ass is so nice I couldn’t keep my hands off it during the combat exercise.”

Everyone immediately glared angrily at the Pansage.

“Mineta, NO!” said an appalled Izuku, thinking that maybe being unconscious for the better part of the class day hadn’t been so bad after all. “That’s creepy.”

“Yeah, I love beautiful female Pokémon too but like, there’s a _line_.” Said Kaminari.

“For real, dude. You need to control yourself.” Said Kirishima “That kind of behavior is pretty unheroic, not to mention you’d be risking expulsion. What if Aizawa-sensei decides that one of us should go home after all? You’d be the first to get kicked out.”

“Meh, I’d like to see him try.” Mineta said smugly.

“Anyway, Deku!” said Uraraka, clearly eager to change the uncomfortable subject “What’s your stance on evolving?”

“Um, well, Eevees normally evolve depending on what our Quirk is. For example, an Eevee that develops, say, a Water Pulse Quirk will automatically evolve into Vaporeon regardless of other factors. But in cases when an Eevee has a Quirk that isn’t compatible with any Eeveelution…” Izuku swallowed “or are Quirkless… then they’d have to evolve the old-fashioned way with elemental stones, solar or lunar ribbons, and whatnot. But…” Izuku trailed off. He thought back to that day, years ago, when he’d tried to purchase a Thunderstone. He had just started middle school, and there was a traveling salesmon who sold items for evolution, stones among them. Izuku had been excited; finally, he could become a Jolteon just like his idol!

* * *

 _“What are_ you _doing here?” Izuku flinched at the three other Eevees’ condescending glares._

_“I’m just… getting a stone.” Izuku said timidly._

_“No, you’re not.” The largest of the Eevees pushed him “If you think you can become any better by evolving, you’re wrong. You’d just go from a Quirkless nobody to an even bigger Quirkless nobody. You’d disgrace the entire Eeveelution line!”_

_“But I… I just want to be a Jolteon…”_

_“A_ Jolteon _?!” all three Eevees laughed sonorously “He wants to become a Jolteon! He thinks evolving into the same species as All Might will make him cool! What a loser!”_

_Izuku looked down at his paws, ears and tail lowered, his vision went foggy as he eyes felt heavy with tears._

_“Listen,_ Midoriya _.” Said the largest Eevee “A Quirkless Pokémon has no business trying to emulate the world’s greatest hero. You’d only be insulting All Might. And here we thought you were a fan of his.”_

_Izuku tried to swallow, but his throat was dry. He watched as his tears fell to the ground, moistening it._

_“Get lost already, nerd.” Said the only female Eevee of the group “Leave the evolving to those of us who actually have a Quirk.”_

_“Yeah,” said the third Eevee “You’re much better off staying in that weak, useless form. It suits you best.”_

_And Izuku left without another word. Since that day, he’d never even entertained the idea of evolving. Yep, he’d stay an Eevee his entire life. It’s what a weakling like him deserved…_

* * *

“Deku? What’s wrong?” Uraraka’s voice snapped Izuku back to the present. “You spaced out just now.”

“Sorry.” Izuku shook his head to clear his mind “I was just thinking… anyway, I haven’t evolved yet because I guess it’s just hard to make a choice; all the Eeveelutions are quite cool and have their merits. But I can only become one, and once a decision is made, there’s no going back.”

“That makes sense.” Said Iida “The Eeveelutions are all distinct between one another despite being in the same line, so it’s quite smart of you to wait and see which one would be the best fit for you.”

Izuku sighed shakily, relieved that his friends believed his excuse. The truth is that even now that he had Extreme Evoboost, Izuku still didn’t feel worthy of evolving. At least not when he still had such a poor handle of his power. So, he resolved to hold off on evolution until he’d mastered Extreme Evoboost and truly lived up to the legacy that All Might had entrusted on him.

“So Midoriya, what’s your favorite movie?” Kirishima asked.

Oh, the conversation had changed again.

“Well, I know it’s a bit boring, since it’s a documentary, but _Symbol of Peace_ is mine.” Said Izuku “All Might is the one who inspired me to become a hero, so a movie detailing his exploits would be my favorite by default.”

“I think that’s pretty cool!” Said Uraraka “Mine’s _Treasure Planet_! I love the father-son bond between Jim and Silver! It always makes me cry. The film’s also just beautiful to look at.”

“My favorite movie is _Anthropocene Park_ , for nostalgic reasons.” said Ojiro “My parents are big fans, so I used to watch it almost every weekend with them when I was little. Good times.”

“Bringing humans back from extinction…” Kaminari said thoughtfully “Wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“No, the film firmly establishes that it would be incredibly dangerous.” Said Tokoyami “It’s a commentary on the dangers of letting hubris cloud your judgement and treating science like a toy.”

“Personally, I have to admit that I find _Anthropocene Park_ kind of annoying.” Said Yaoyorozu.

“Really? Why?” Kirishima asked, perplexed.

Yaoyorozu shrugged “Mostly because of its inaccurate portrayal of humans, which was outdated even by the time that it came out. The humans look downright shrink-wrapped, for one. Plus, they’re depicted as completely bald when we know that they had hair at least on top of their heads…”

And then Yaoyorozu descended into a rather lengthy lecture about what awesome and fascinating creatures humans were and how much it sucked that most pop culture depictions didn’t do them justice. Not that anyone complained much, since it was genuinely interesting. Next to the true nature of All Might’s Quirk, the extinction of humans was one of the world’s biggest and most intriguing mysteries. All that anyone knew about humans is that they used to be the most widespread species on the planet, that Pokémon used to be companions for them, and that they were also likely the first creatures to truly attain sapience. In fact, a lot of the technology that Pokémon had in the present day was derived from technology left behind by humans. Humans were such a fascinating topic among Pokémon that anthropology was just about the only profession that could give heroism a run for its money in the “things the average 8-year-old wants to become as an adult” department.

And so the conversations went on, changing topics and sometimes even rounding back to previous ones until the teens noticed it was getting late and they should all head home and rest; after all, none of them wanted to risk falling asleep in the middle of class the next day and earning themselves a choke from Aizawa-sensei’s scarf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I have a bit of a dilemma in that Shigaraki is debuting next chapter. He has already been cast, but I'm on the fence regarding whether the species I chose for him is actually a good one, which means I'm open to any suggestions. If anyone reading this has any ideas on what Pokemon Shigaraki should be don't be afraid to list them down. Who knows? If I like it, I might end up changing my initial choice to your pick.


	6. Danger Arises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The League of Villains makes their entrance.

A large crowd of Pokémon was gathered outside UA’s gates. News reporters. Recently knowledge had spread among the civilian populace that All Might was teaching at the prestigious school, so of course the media would be all over that, with every reporter from every station trying to coerce every student and even the teachers into an interview. At one point, one of the reporters tried to enter the school grounds, only to be stopped by its high-caliber defense system.

From afar, a lone Grimmsnarl observed the commotion. He smiled to himself, inwardly mocking and berating the media for their ignorance and naivete. Oh, if only they knew what was in store.

_Let’s see how they react… when their beloved Symbol of Peace meets his demise at this very school._

* * *

Today had been insane. The first order of business for Class 1-A was to pick a Representative, which was in and of itself quite a shock, since this was the day after that crazy heroes vs villains training exercise, so having a relatively mundane school activity right after that was quite bizarre in its own way. Ultimately, the Class Rep was decided via vote, and Izuku had somehow ended up winning it.

As flattered as he was by the honor, Izuku doubted that he was an appropriate leader figure: he had trouble speaking in front of a crowd and generally got scared too easily. To Izuku, a good leader was someone who was fearless and didn’t hesitate to take charge, so when there was a surprise security breach courtesy of the needling press that caused the whole school to explode in blind panic and Iida managed to get the entire crowd of students under control, Izuku ultimately decided to relinquish his title of Class Rep to him.

Then came the afternoon classes.

“Today’s training will be a little different.” Aizawa-sensei said to his class “There will be three instructors: me, All Might, and another faculty member. Since yesterday’s training was combat, today we’ll be doing rescue.”

The students muttered amongst each other in excitement. Testing out their Quirks during the assessment and combat training had been fun, and they couldn’t wait to see how they’d use them next.

“This training will take place at an off-campus facility,” Aizawa-sensei continued after silencing the class “so we’ll be taking a bus. If you wish to get on your hero costumes, you may do so, but be quick. That’s all.”

Since his costume had gotten destroyed during yesterday’s training, Izuku wound up being the only student to not wear any hero outfit. Izuku hoped the support company would fix it up soon; it felt weird being the only one in his class to not look like a proper hero. The bus took the class to a huge domed building, and there was a Dusknoir wearing a white spacesuit-themed costume waiting for them at the entrance. The students gasped: this Dusknoir was none other than Thirteen, a renowned pro-hero who specialized in rescue and disaster relief.

“Thirteen is my favorite hero!” cried Uraraka as she jumped in joy. “I can’t believe I get to meet them in person!”

“Isn’t it just the best feeling ever?!” Izuku squeed alongside her.

“Hello everyone!” said Thirteen in a soft, friendly voice “Please, come in!”

The Dusknoir gestured towards the entrance and the class eagerly headed inside the building, where -much to the teens’ delight- it looked more like an amusement park than a training ground.

“The different areas of this facility simulate the aftermaths of various natural disasters.” Thirteen explained. “We have a landslide zone, a shipwreck zone, a fire zone, a blizzard zone, an earthquake zone and many others!”

“Thirteen, where’s All Might?” asked Aizawa-sensei “He should be here already.”

Thirteen approached Aizawa-sensei and whispered something into his ear that made the Absol sigh and roll his eyes.

“Never mind, I guess it’ll be fine with just the two of us.” Aizawa-sensei said in an annoyed tone.

“Alright. Then let’s begin!” Thirteen said cheerfully “But first let me say few things.” Thirteen’s voice then got serious. “You kids are probably familiar with my Quirk, Black Hole Eclipse. As you can guess by its name, it’s extremely powerful; I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust.”

“Yeah, you’ve used Black Hole Eclipse to save countless lives!” said Izuku, while Uraraka nodded eagerly next to him.

“That’s true.” Said Thirteen “But Black Hole Eclipse could also very easily be used to kill, as could the powers of several of you.”

Well that sure was food for thought. Izuku knew that his and Kacchan’s Quirks could very easily kill a Pokémon in rather obvious ways, but come to think of it, his two newest friends had scarily deadly powers as well: Uraraka could make someone float into the stratosphere and then let them fall to their demise or worse, leave them there until they suffocated from a lack of oxygen; Iida meanwhile could probably turn someone into bloody paste if he rammed into them at a high enough velocity. It was disturbing just to think of how much devastation even heroes in training could cause if they lacked any moral restraints…

“Because of the strict regulations on Quirks put on our society by the law,” Thirteen continued “it’s easy to forget how unsafe they can be, and if you lose control of your powers or just use them recklessly and unwisely, you could easily hurt someone that you were trying to save. Thanks to Aizawa’s fitness test you all have a good grasp of your Quirks’ potential, and thanks to All Might’s combat training you all likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against others. Carry those lessons onto this class; today you will learn to use your Quirks to save lives. No fighting whatsoever. After all, that’s what being a hero is all about: ensuring the safety of others.” Thirteen bowed “That’s all I have to say. Thanks for listening!”

Moved by Thirteen’s epic and heartwarming speech, the class cheered. Some of them were even tearing up.

“Thank you, Thirteen. Now that that’s over-”

Aizawa-sensei was interrupted by the sudden flickering of the building’s lights. Then, in the center of the arena, something that looked like a cloud of pitch-black smoke materialized into view. Then, a Pokémon emerged out of the cloud. It was a Grimmsnarl. He was very lanky and walked in a shambling manner, and his white hair was horribly matted, but that wasn’t the disturbing part, no. The disturbing part was that this Grimmsnarl was wearing what looked to be the severed, mummified hands of others of his kind as a form of morbid decoration. They appeared to be grabbing onto him, as if vainly trying to restrain and pull him back even in death, and one of these hands was worn as a mask.

Then other Pokémon emerged next to the Grimmsnarl. First five. Then twelve. Then thirty. Soon it appeared as though an entire army had come through the cloud of black mist.

Aizawa-sensei crouched onto a fighting stance and his fur bristled. “Thirteen!” he cried “Protect the students!”

“Wait, what’s going on?” asked Kirishima “Is this part of the training?”

“No, this is real!” Growled Aizawa-sensei as he put on his goggles “Those are villains!”

A wave of fear descended upon the whole class. Villains had infiltrated the school. Real villains. The kids had come here to learn how to save lives, only to find theirs in danger. Irony sure was cruel today.

“How curious.” A deep voice reverberated through the building “All Might is not here. But the schedule we retrieved said he would be present.” The deep voice turned out to be coming from the black mist cloud, which quickly shrunk down and revealed itself to be a Spiritomb.

Aizawa-sensei didn’t answer verbally, merely baring his teeth defiantly at the intruders. Thirteen meanwhile stood in front of the student crowd with their arms spread protectively at either side.

“Where is he?” the Grimmsnarl said with a raspy hiss “Where is All Might? We went through all this trouble to meet him and he doesn’t show up? How disappointing. Maybe we can lure him out by killing a few students.”

“Over my dead body, you will!” shouted an enraged Aizawa.

“Yes, that’s the point. We’re gonna kill you too.” The Grimmsnarl said with a slight bow of his head, which seemed to be the cue for the villains to advance.

All hell broke loose. After quickly telling Thirteen to get the students to safety, Aizawa engaged the army of villains all by himself.

Izuku knew that as powerful and useful as Leer was, the fact that it only worked on Pokémon that Aizawa-sensei was directly staring at meant that he was at a major disadvantage fighting multiple opponents. Kind of like right now. Luckily, Izuku’s fears quickly proved to be unfounded, as despite fighting in a disadvantageous environment, Aizawa-sensei still managed to quickly neutralize and defeat several of the villains. The fact that his goggles made it impossible to tell who he was staring at helped, as none of his opponents could tell whose Quirk was being erased at any given time, thus reducing their combat effectiveness. While Aizawa-sensei kept the villains at bay, Thirteen and the students headed to the exit. Unfortunately, their path was blocked by the black mist Spiritomb, who had somehow managed to slip past Aizawa-sensei.

“Greetings, children.” The Spiritomb said with a slight bow “We are the League of Villains. I know it’s rude of us to barge in uninvited, but we really wanted to say hello. And besides, isn’t this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace to draw his final breath? …At least it would have been, but apparently the schedule changed at the last minute.” The Spiritomb’s smokey body appeared to shrug “Ah, well. I suppose it doesn’t matter. I still have a role to play.”

Thirteen stepped forward with a clear intention to fight the Spiritomb, but Kacchan and Kirishima were much faster, and they leapt at the villain and attacked him with their Quirks before Thirteen could even tell them to stop. For a moment it looked like the teens had landed direct hits. When the smoke from Kacchan’s Lava Plume cleared, though, the Spiritomb revealed that the attacks had simply phased through his amorphous cloudlike body.

“You certainly live up to your school’s reputation.” Said the Spiritomb, clearly impressed “But you should be more careful, children. Otherwise, someone might get hurt.”

“You two!” Thirteen called to Kacchan and Kirishima “Get out of the way right now!”

Unfortunately, the warning came too late as the Spiritomb enveloped the entire group in his dark mist.

“I’ll scatter you all across this entire facility to meet my comrades AND YOUR DEATHS!” he bellowed.

* * *

Tenya cursed under his breath. He moved as fast as he could, but even then he was still far too slow: although he had managed to save Uraraka, Satou, Sero, Shoji, and Ashido, the rest of his classmates had vanished. The villainous Spiritomb has absorbed them into his black mist and teleported them to parts unknown. While normally Tenya would be glad that Thirteen had managed to escape the mass-teleporting as well, that meant that most of the others, wherever they were, did not have a teacher to keep them safe…

“Shoji!” Tenya called to the Barbaracle “Can you use your Quirk to see if our classmates are still in the building?”

Shoji nodded and immediately spread his multiple arms, which transformed into eyes and ears and scanned their surroundings.

“They’ve all been scattered all over the facility.” he said at last “Everyone is still here, and they appear to be unharmed. For now, at least.”

Tenya and the others sighed in relief. Their friends were safe for now. However, there was no time to relax; the Spiritomb that had separated everyone was still here, blocking their exit.

“Okay, so what now?” asked Sero.

There was a long silence. The situation truly seemed hopeless. Then at last Thirteen spoke up.

“Class Rep!”

Tenya diligently turned his attention towards his teacher.

“I have a job for you.” Thirteen said “Run to the school and tell the rest of the faculty what’s going on.”

“W-what?!” Iida was shocked.

“Listen, the alarms aren’t going off, and our phones aren’t getting any signal either.” Said Thirteen “One of these villains is clearly to blame, yet despite Eraserhead nullifying Quirks left and right, we’re still completely cut off from all communications. My guess is that the villain responsible for the interference must be hiding somewhere. But trying to hunt them down would take too long, so our best option is to send someone to find help, and as the Pokémon with the fastest Quirk, you’re the only one who can do that.”

“Yes, but… leave you all behind?!” cried Tenya. As sensible as Thirteen’s plan was, to Tenya, being the Class Representative meant protecting his classmates, and how could he do that if he left? Tenya looked at the rest of the group and much to his surprise, they were smiling at him.

“Go on, dude.” Said Satou “We can take care of ourselves.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about smoky here, we’ll keep him busy and off your tail!” said Sero.

Tenya wanted to protest, but before he could even open his muzzle he was interrupted once more.

“Class Rep,” said Thirteen “remember how I said that today’s exercise was supposed to teach you all how to use your Quirks to save rather than to fight? This here is a good example: I know that you want to stay and protect your classmates, but right now the best you can do for them is escape and get help.”

Tenya still had some reservations, but his teacher and classmates were right. It would be worse for all of them in the long run if reinforcements didn’t arrive soon, and Tenya was the only one who could possibly get them in time…

“…All right.” The Lucario said at last.

“You fools do realize that I’m still here and can hear you strategize, right?” The Spiritomb deadpanned and began to expand his mist-like body once more.

“That won’t matter as long as you can’t do anything about it!” said Thirteen, who promptly activated Black Hole Eclipse and immediately started sucking in the Spiritomb’s black mist. Strangely and alarmingly, however, the Spiritomb didn’t seem frightened.

“Your Quirk sure is astounding, Thirteen.” He said “However, you are a hero that specializes in rescues and have little combat experience as a result, which means…” A cloud of black mist appeared right behind Thirteen. “You haven’t learned to watch your blind spots!”

And just like that, Thirteen’s own Quirk was redirected against them via portal. The Dusknoir’s back was instantly torn to shreds.

“I’m sorry…” Thirteen said weakly as they collapsed into the floor “He got me…” then they stopped moving.

“THIRTEEN!” shrieked a horrified Ashido.

“IIDA YOU HAVE GET OUT OF HERE AND FETCH HELP _NOW_!” cried Satou.

This time, Tenya didn’t hesitate. In the blink of an eye he had sped past the villainous Spiritomb and headed for the exit, not stopping or even looking back until he reached the doors. With some effort he managed to pry them open just enough for him to fit through. Then he ran outside at full sprint.

 _Everyone, please hold on…_ the Lucario thought as he sped towards the main UA building. _Help is on the way…_

* * *

When Izuku’s vision finally returned, he found himself falling headfirst into a body of water. Izuku had just enough time to realize he had been teleported to the shipwreck zone before landing with a rather painful splash. Izuku kicked as hard as he could to propel himself upwards, but before he could reach the surface, he saw from the corner of his eye a Sharpedo swimming towards him at terrifying speed, jaws wide open. The Sharpedo was mere centimeters away of biting the Eevee in half when Asui -who had Mineta tucked underneath an arm- saved him at the last second by delivering a powerful kick to the offending Water-type. She then used her long tongue to grab Izuku and escaped.

The trio eventually arrived at the shipwreck’s zone ship, and Asui used her tongue to place her classmates on the deck -though Izuku noticed that while she was gentle with him, Mineta was dropped with considerable roughness- before climbing in herself.

“We haven’t even been at this school a full week and I already think this is gonna be the worst day of class this year…” said Asui once the three were out of danger.

“I second that, Asui…” said Izuku.

“I told you to call me Tsuyu-chan.”

“R-right, right. Sorry, Tsuyu-chan.” Said Izuku “Anyway, I can’t stop thinking about what those villains said… somehow they knew All Might was supposed to be with us today. I bet they snuck into the school’s files while we were all distracted with the press’s break-in.”

“Yeah, but should we be that worried, though?” Mineta interjected “I mean, it’s not like these guys can actually _kill_ All Might. Once he shows up, he’ll make quick work of them and save the day like he always does!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” said Asui “To me it looks like these villains really planned their attack, so it is possible, maybe even probable, that they’ve figured out a way to kill All Might.”

With every word that came out of Asui’s mouth, Mineta looked increasingly more panicked until he practically shouted “NO WAY, ALL MIGHT IS GONNA SAVE US! COME ON MIDORIYA, TELL FROG-WAIFU THAT SHE’S WRONG!”

Izuku didn’t answer. As much as he wanted to refute Asui, she had a point: unless these villains were just monumentally stupid or suicidal, there’s no way they’d have risked infiltrating UA even if it was to make an attempt on the Symbol of Peace’s life unless they had a good plan to accomplish that. And then there was All Might’s injury… while Izuku doubted very much that these villains knew about the state the Symbol of Peace was in, if anything that probably just made things even worse, since logically the villains would have devised a method to kill an All Might that was in peak physical condition…

Izuku’s thoughts were interrupted by a series of loud splashes. Izuku, Asui, and Mineta didn’t need to look over the deck’s railing to know that they were surrounded in all directions by villainous Water-type Pokémon. There was no escape.

“Oh no what are we gonna do?! We’re gonna die! We’re gonna die and we’ll be dead! Dead mons be we! Oh, I can’t believe I’m gonna die without ever getting Ashido to coat me in her slime! It’s all over!” Mineta blubbered as he rocked himself back and forth in a fetal position.

“No, it’s not.” Izuku said, his voice filled with determination “We’re going to fight.”

Mineta and Asui looked at him in surprise.

“I’m not joking.” Said Izuku “If these guys came here to kill All Might, and they do have a way to beat him, then it’s our duty to stop them. The alarms didn’t go off, so that means no one at UA knows what’s happening. We’re on our own. It’s up to us to keep All Might safe. Let’s be heroes!”

There was a long pause. Then Mineta started screaming again. “ARE YOU CRAZY?! THESE GUYS MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE ON _ALL MIGHT_ AND YOU WANT US TO FIGHT THEM?! No! The best plan if for us to lay low and wait for a pro to come and save us!”

“We do have one advantage, though.” Said Izuku “See, Asui- sorry, _Tsuyu-chan_ was teleported here to the shipwreck zone even though she’s a Water-type. That means that that Spiritomb didn’t really pay attention to where he was sending each of us; he just wanted to split us up into smaller groups so we’d be easier to pick off and then he sent us to different zones completely at random.”

“Huh, that’s a really good point.” Said Asui “I guess they got hasty.”

“There’s one more thing.” Izuku flicked his tail in the railing’s direction “The villains haven’t tried to make a move on us yet. My guess is that it’s because they don’t know what our Quirks are, so they’re playing it safe and waiting for the right moment to attack.”

“I see…” Asui nodded “so you’re saying that we can potentially use our Quirks to fight back and escape. As long as we play our cards right.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

Asui gave Midoriya a decisive nod “Then let’s talk Quirk strategy.”

The Eevee, Frogadier and Pansage huddled in a circle, taking care to remain out of sight of the surrounding villains.

“I’ll go first. My Quirk is called Battle Bond.” Said Asui, keeping her voice low so that the villains wouldn’t overhear “It allows me to increase my strength, speed, stamina and overall physical prowess whenever I’m with one or more Pokémon I can trust. I can replicate its effects by thinking about loved ones like friends and family, but obviously it works way better if allies are physically present. Also, the more I trust my allies, the greater the effects of my Quirk.”

“Hmm…” Izuku hummed thoughtfully “right now you only have me and Mineta, and the three of us have only known each other for less than a week. Would that be enough to give Battle Bond a significant boost?”

To Izuku’s surprise, Asui smiled. “The fact that I told you to call me Tsuyu-chan instead of my surname should already be a big clue that I trust you, Midoriya. Seeing your fight against Bakugo was that inspiring. As for Mienta, well…” there was a pause and Izuku and Asui looked at the Pansage, who made a seductive kissy face at her.

“Yeah, you should be enough for Battle Bond, Midoriya.”

“Well, I’m glad I can be of assistance in that at least because otherwise I’m not very reliable.” Said Izuku “As you know, I have my Superpower, but it comes at a price: I can’t use it without literally breaking myself, so it’s very much an all-or-nothing deal…”

“And my Quirk is Sticky Barb.” Said Mineta, as he plucked something round, purple and spiky from the tree on his head “I grow these squishy seeds that stick to any surface, though the strength of their stickiness varies depending on how I’m feeling, and I bounce off of them instead of sticking. They also immediately grow back, but if I pluck too many at a time it can cause me a headache.”

“Okay, so we got Battle Bond, one-time-use Superpower, and Sticky Barb...” Izuku’s mind was racing “How do we combine them for maximum efficiency?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, THIS IS SO BORING!” called a voice undoubtedly belonging to one of the Water-type villains “Just come out already, you brats!”

Suddenly, the boat the teens were standing in was struck by a massive wave that split it in two. Though the wave had thankfully failed to knock Izuku, Asui and Mineta overboard, they’d find themselves back in the water soon anyway with how fast the boat was sinking. Mineta went right back to blind, screaming panic and started hastily plucking out Sticky Barbs and haphazardly throwing them into the water.

“Mineta, stop!” cried Izuku as he looked over the railing “They’ll guess your Quirk-!”

Izuku then saw how the villains were avoiding Mineta’s Sticky Barbs. Of course! Even if the villains now knew that Mineta could throw weird seeds at them, it didn’t mean they knew what those seeds actually did. They had an opening now!

“Guys, I got an idea!”

“And you couldn’t get one BEFORE the bad guys wrecked the ship?!”

“Mineta, calm down or we’re not getting out of here alive!” Asui berated the Pansage before turning to Midoriya “Tell us your plan, Midoriya. We’re listening.”

* * *

Izuku’s plan was a resounding success. After catching the villains off with a bluff and jumping overboard, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost to deliver a powerful blow to the water, causing massive waves that thrashed the villains in all directions. Izuku was careful to minimize the damage to himself as much as possible, though he still broke several toes of his right front paw. Asui then used her tongue to grab Izuku and, using the power boost from her Battle Bond, she evaded the thrashing waves in a single leap with her classmates in tow. All the while, Mineta -who was once again tucked under Asui’s arm- threw more of his Sticky Barbs into the water, causing the villains to get stuck to each other when the waves collided right back.

The trio landed right next to the lake’s shore, out of danger’s reach. Here the water was shallow enough that they could all stand upright in the water. Izuku winced when he accidentally put too much pressure in his fractured paw.

“Midoriya, are you all right?” asked Asui.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Izuku tried to smile through the pain “Don’t worry about me. We should make getting help our top priority.”

Shouts, growls, and other sounds of brawling were heard coming from the main plaza. The battle between Aizawa-sensei and the villains was still going. Izuku’s stomach sank. Aizawa-sensei had been fighting such a large crowd of Pokémon alone for this long? As impressive as that was, he had to be close to his limit.

“Aizawa-sensei…” Izuku said in a fearful voice “if he doesn’t get backup he’s going to overexert himself! He could get himself killed all because he was trying to protect us!”

“What the- NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Mineta whisper-shrieked “Midoriya do you have an honest-to-Arceus death wish?!”

“I hate to side with Mineta, but he’s right.” Said Asui “We shouldn’t recklessly endanger ourselves like that.”

“I’m not saying we should jump into the middle of the fight.” Said Izuku “I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Izuku engaged on a staring contest with his partners until they relented.

“Alright, but we’re _just_ going to see how things are going. No shenanigans.” Said Mineta.

The trio carefully made their way towards the battle zone, and there they found their teacher, exhausted and panting heavily, and surrounded by dozens of fainted Pokémon.

 _Aizawa-sensei is incredible!_ Izuku thought. _He took down all the villains by himself!_

Indeed, the only Pokémon left standing were the Grimmsnarl ringleader and a strange Pokémon that looked like he was made of parts of multiple different Pokémon like something out of science-fiction.

“You really are so cool, Eraserhead.” Said the Grimmsnarl “You managed to take out every single one of my friends even though you’re not suited for drawn-out fights against multiple opponents. But it’s clear that you’ve reached your limit.” The Grimmsnarl ran towards Aizawa-sensei at full sprint “It’s over, hero!”

Izuku, Tsuyu-chan, and Mineta watched with a mix of admiration and terror as their teacher did not hesitate to fight head on. The Absol managed to land a hit on the Grimmsnarl’s stomach with a swipe of his paw but it was then that the imp Pokémon took the opportunity to grab Aizawa into a headlock to immobilize him. And then the Grimmsnarl wrapped his hand around the Absol’s elbow and squeezed.

Izuku had never heard a more horrifying sound than Aizawa-sensei’s agonized scream as the area where the Grimmsnarl had grabbed him started to decay: his fur fell off, his skin dried and cracked and peeled, exposing bleeding red tissue underneath. Izuku and his companions were so scared that they couldn’t move. Just what kind of Quirk was this?

Aizawa-sensei managed to struggle free from the Grimmsnarl’s grasp and delivered a kick to his lower jaw, but now he was looking twice as exhausted as he was before, plus he was limping due to his injured elbow.

Suddenly, the mishmash Pokémon, who until then had remained perfectly still, charged at Aizawa-sensei with terrifying speed and pinned him to the ground. Using his powerful talons, the Pokémon then proceeded to crush Aizawa’s head, and then capped it off by snapping the poor Absol’s forelegs like twigs. There was blood everywhere. It took every ounce of willpower in Izuku’s being to not jump into the fray and try to help his teacher; as much as the young Eevee wanted to help, the rational part of him knew that he’d most likely only end up getting himself killed.

“How do you like my friend, Eraserhead?” the Grimmsnarl said with a mocking chuckle “You may call him Type: Null, and he’s very pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“I can’t watch this…” Mineta whimpered as quietly as he could “We should get out of here!”

Asui croaked a tiny agreement, yet none of them dared move a muscle. They were simply too scared.

“Tomura Shigaraki” it was the Grimmsnarl’s Spiritomb partner, who had teleported next to his leader.

“Ah, Kurogiri.” The Grimmsnarl greeted him back “Have you dealt with Thirteen?”

“Thirteen is out of commission.” Said the Spiritomb, Kurogiri “But I also have bad news: one of the students managed to escape me and went to alert the rest of the faculty. And unfortunately, the student in question has a speed-type Quirk, so reinforcements will likely be here soon.”

The Grimmsnarl, Tomura Shigaraki, didn’t respond right away, but it was evident that he was livid at the news. Disturbingly, he started furiously scratching at his own neck, and after what he’d done to Aizawa-sensei’s elbow, Izuku was afraid that he was going to disintegrate himself. However, that didn’t happen, though he did appear to draw blood.

“Kurogiri, _you idiot_!” Shigaraki snarled after he stopped his bout of self-harm “if you weren’t our warp gate I swear I’d tear apart every atom in your body right now… I guess we have no choice. Let’s retreat. If dozens of pros are coming here we won’t stand a chance.”

“Did I hear that right?” Mineta whispered “They’re leaving? Oh, thank Arceus, we’re saved!”

“But before we go,” Shigaraki said, interrupting Mineta’s celebration “let’s hit these heroes where it hurts!”

The Grimmsnarl turned around to face Izuku, Asui and Mineta, apparently having known of their presence the whole time, and lunged, aiming for Asui, who was the student closest to his position. Before he could turn the young Frogadier to dust, though, he stopped mere centimeters away from grabbing her face.

“You really are amazing, Eraserhead.”

Aizawa-sensei had managed to lift his head from Type: Null’s grasp and was using Leer on Shigaraki, nullifying his Quirk, and stopping him just in the nick of time.

Now that the Grimmsnarl was distracted, Izuku took the opportunity to fight back. Activating Extreme Evoboost, he jumped at Shigaraki.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he screamed.

Izuku was sure he’d hit something, but for some reason his foreleg was completely intact. Had he managed to get Extreme Evoboost under control at last? Then Izuku looked up at the Pokémon he had struck, and was shocked to see that it wasn’t Shigaraki, but Type: Null, who was completely unfazed. The mishmash Pokémon had jumped in at the last second to shield Shigaraki and somehow been unharmed by the full impact of an Extreme Evoboosted strike. So that was it. _Type: Null_ was the plan to Kill All Might!

“Now, this is interesting.” Shigaraki rasped from somewhere behind Type: Null “That power of yours… are you one of All Might’s disciples, little Eevee? Ah well, I guess it doesn’t matter. You and your friends are dead anyway.”

Type: Null raised a talon to smash Izuku. Shigaraki lunged at Asui and Mineta. The villains that Aizawa-sensei had knocked out earlier were coming to and getting back on their feet. It was over.

_*CRASH*_

The exit doors were flung open, surprising the villains and making them stop their attack.

“Have no fear, students. BECAUSE I AM HERE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to AiaLaau for their suggestion on Shigaraki. You're a lifesaver.


	7. The Ballad of Type: Null

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight of USJ continues.

_Toshinori, you idiot, you’ve been working here less than a week and you already screwed up! You literally had one job!_ The Jolteon mentally berated himself as he made his way to the rescue facility where he should have been teaching Class 1-A alongside Aizawa and Thirteen. On the way to UA, Toshinori had made several stops to deal with criminals causing havoc, thus exceeding the time limit of his muscle form, and making himself unable to help teach rescue training. After enduring a boring and long-winded lecture from Nezu, UA’s principal, Toshinori recovered just enough strength to at least make it to the tail end of the class.

_I should say something inspiring when I get there._ Toshinori thought, but before he could come up with a speech, something running at high speeds nearly crashed into him.

“All Might-!” the speedster managed to say as he skidded and tripped while trying to stop himself.

“Oh, it’s you young Iida.” Said Toshinori as he helped the Lucario up. “Why aren’t you in your class?”

“All Might, we’re under attack!” said Iida, his voice shaking “An army of villains somehow infiltrated the rescue training facility and they’re holding everyone hostage!”

Toshinori’s fur stood on end. Villains. In UA. Attacking his students. And on the one day he had been absent.

“Young Iida, thank you.” He said “You’ve done well. Head to the main campus and alert the rest of the faculty of the situation. I’ll deal with the villains in the meantime.”

“Yes, sir.” Iida bowed “But first I must warn you to be cautious. The villains stated that their intention was to kill you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Toshinori wasted no time and ran to the rescue training facility as fast as he could. If he was angry at himself for his reckless negligence before, that anger had increased tenfold now. His colleagues, his students -his chosen successor among them- were in mortal danger. Because of _him_. He’s who the villains wanted. Toshinori could only hope that everyone was still alive, because if either Aizawa, Thirteeh, or -Arceus forbid- one or more of his students had gotten killed, he’d _never_ forgive himself.

When Toshinori arrived at the facility, he was seething with so much anger that he couldn’t even bring himself to smile like he usually did during a rescue. Instead, he bared his teeth into a snarl.

Thirteen was lying unconscious and unmoving on the floor. Aizawa was lying in the central plaza, bleeding heavily and looking as though he’d broken every bone in his body. Most of the students were nowhere to be seen, and there were villains everywhere. Toshinori could also see young Midoriya and two of his classmates -Asui and Mineta, if he recalled correctly- being menaced by two of the villains -a Grimmsnarl and a chimeric Pokémon whose species Toshinori didn’t recognize- who appeared to be the most dangerous of the group.

After uttering his signature catchphrase, Toshinori made quick work of the mooks in the central plaza, knocking them all out in a single strike each. He then recovered Aizawa, and after quickly making sure that the Absol was still breathing, apologized quietly to him. Then, in the blink of an eye, Toshinori rescued Miodriya and the other two students from the villains’ clutches.

“You three,” he said “take Aizawa and head to the exit! Hurry!”

“All Might, wait!” that was young Midoriya “That big mishmash villain took Extr-I mean, I hit him with my Quirk, and he wasn’t fazed at all!”

“Young Midoriya!” Toshinori smiled at his apprentice to reassure him “I’ve got this!”

Toshinori prepared to attack the Grimmsnarl -who he presumed to be the leader of the assault- but was blocked by the mishmash Pokémon that Midoriya had warned him about. And true to the young Eevee’s warning, the creature took no apparent damage despite Toshinori going all out with Extreme Evoboost.

Huh. A strange Pokémon that could take full-power blows from Extreme Evoboost. Plus, there was young Iida’s warning earlier about the villains’ intentions to kill him. Toshinori tried aiming for the mishmash Pokémon’s face, but his opponent didn’t even flinch.

“It’s a wasted effort, All Might.” Said the Grimmsnarl “Type: Null here has Battle Armor. Unless you can figure out a way to hold him still and literally gouge out his flesh, there’s no way you’re beating him! You’ve finally met your match!”

“Hey, thanks for the tip!” said Toshninori “Lucky for you I do have a way to hold this guy down!”

Toshinori bit down onto Type: Null’s back and slammed him into the ground, lifting a titanic cloud of dust in the process.

* * *

Izuku, Asui, and Mineta watched All Might’s battle in awe as they carried Aizawa-sensei to safety.

“Did you guys see that?!” said Mineta “That supplex caused a huge explosion! All Might’s on a whole other level!”

“Yeah, I guess we worried about these villains for nothing. All Might’s unstoppable!” Asui remarked.

Izuku wished he could share the confidence that his classmates showed but knowing about Type: Null’s ability to tank full power Extreme Evoboost-enhanced blows made him extremely worried. And then there was the fact that All Might hadn’t shown up to teach class earlier despite being scheduled to; although Thirteen and Aizawa-sensei had been discreet about it, by catching a glimpse of the news on the way to school, Izuku suspected that the reason All Might had been absent from class was because he had likely already exceeded his three hour limit for the day in morning acts of heroism.

The cloud of dust finally settled, and All Might and Type: Null were visible again. There was a portal underneath them that had cushioned Type: Null from damage and allowed him to grasp All Might with his talons, crushing the very area below the ribs where the Jolteon’s injuries were.

“Nice work, Kurogiri!” Shigaraki laughed.

All Might struggled to pry Type: Null’s talons off him to no avail as he sunk further and further into Kurogiri’s portal until only his head and neck were visible.

“Normally I wouldn’t want to line the inside of my warp gate with blood and viscera, but I’ll make an exception for you.” Said Kurogiri as he began to close his portal around All Might’s neck.

Izuku held back bile. They were going to decapitate his mentor!

“Asui!” he said, “Can you and Mineta carry Aizawa-sensei without my help?”

“I-I think so?” said Tsuyu-chan “But why? What are you going to do?”

Izuku didn’t respond. He simply took off charging towards the fight. Mineta and Asui called for him to come back, that he was crazy. He knew they were right. But… Izuku couldn’t just abandon All Might and risk letting him get killed. The Symbol of Peace couldn’t die here! Not when there were still so many Pokémon who looked up to him… Not when he still had so much left to teach Izuku…

“ALL MIGHT, I’M COMING!” Izuku jumped, but before he could reach his beloved mentor, Kurogiri blocked his way and prepared to open a portal. Izuku couldn’t stop in time. But just before Izuku entered the portal, an explosion blew the Spiritomb away.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY, DEKU!”

Kacchan pinned Kurogiri to the ground. Notably, Kacchan had grabbed the Spiritomb from a metallic plate that was just barely visible underneath his smokelike head. “Ha! I figured you’d have a solid body somewhere, you smoky bastard! And I think I just found it.”

Suddenly, a blur of red attacked Shigaraki, who was only barely able to get out of the way. Then a thick layer of ice enveloped Type: Null, immobilizing him and allowing All Might to finally pry himself free. Kirishima and Todoroki were here too.

“One of your weak thugs told me of your plan to kill All Might. It’s hilarious to think a bunch of pathetic lowlifes like you seriously believed they’d have any chance at taking down the Symbol of Peace.” The Vulpix said to Shigaraki, who could only stare bewildered at this unusual cavalry of teenaged Pokémon staring defiantly at him.

“Every single one of you escaped my underlings?” Shigaraki hummed “Kids these days sure are something else.” It was hard to tell whether he was being sincere or sarcastic, though.

“Or maybe you guys just suck major ass! Ever thought that might be your problem?” Kirishima taunted.

Kacchan stifled a snicker and tightened his grip on Kurogiri.

Shigaraki shook his head “I’m afraid I can’t let myself be shown up by a bunch of snot-nosed brats.”

There was a cracking sound as Type: Null broke himself free of Todoroki’s ice. The cold had completely solidified half his body, causing two of his limbs to shatter. Type: Null grunted and crawled on the floor, his body bending unnaturally.

“How-how is he still moving?!” Izuku muttered, horrified by the grisly sight.

“Everyone, stay back!” All Might placed himself protectively in front of his students.

Then, Type: Null began _regrowing_ his lost limbs.

“What the-?!” cried All Might, taken aback “I thought you said his Quirk was Battle Armor!”

“Battle Armor is only _one_ Quirk that Type: Null has, another is Recover.” Shigaraki chuckled “Type: Null has been genetically modified with multiple Quirks to take you on even at 100% of your power. But before he can do that, we need to free our escape gate.”

Things went by so fast that Izuku could barely register what had happened: at first, Type: Null had lunged at Kacchan, who still had Kurogiri pinned to the ground. There was an explosion, and next thing Izuku knew, Kacchan was standing right next to him, Todoroki, Kirishima.

The dust cleared, and Type: Null had grabbed Kurogiri by his metal plate, and All Might had been slammed into a nearby wall. That’s when Izuku realized that All Might had managed to intercept Type: Null before he could hurt Kacchan and pushed the young Typhlosion to safety, but in the process, he had taken the full force of Type: Null’s attack.

“These are _kids_ and you didn’t hold back?!” All Might coughed, injured, but standing his ground.

“Well, he was threatening my companion.” Shigaraki shrugged “Besides, these kids are no saints. That messy-furred Eevee, for instance, tried to kill me with a maxed-out strike, what kind of hero does that?”

“You tried to kill Asui!” Izuku couldn’t help but blurt out. Really, saving Asui had been the only thing in his mind at the time. Not that the Grimmsnarl’s accusation didn’t sting; Izuku felt queasy at the mere notion of killing another Pokémon, even if that Pokémon was a villain.

“See? He’s not trying to deny it!” Shigaraki snarled. “You heroes put yourselves in pedestals and call yourselves noble, yet you are no different from us villains who you constantly demonize!”

All Might scoffed “There is a big difference between using violence to defend yourself or others and committing acts of violence just because you feel like it: my student only attacked you because _you_ tried to kill his friend first!”

“And who the hell gets to decide which forms of violence are acceptable and which ones aren’t?” Shigaraki groaned. “The fact that you heroes can be as violent as you want without anybody batting an eye about it just because it’s ‘for the sake of others’ really pisses me off! You think you’re the Symbol of Peace, All Might? No, what you are is a government-sponsored instrument of violence, and violence always breeds more violence. I’ll make sure to make the world understand that once you are dead.”

“You’re nothing but a lunatic.” All Might growled “Criminals like you always try to justify your heinous actions by hiding behind a so-called noble cause! But I can see past that ruse! I know that you’re only doing this because you enjoy it!”

Shigaraki didn’t respond, but underneath his mummified hand mask, Izuku saw him narrow his eyes.

Izuku, Kacchan, Todoroki, and Kirishima adopted fighting stances, but All Might stepped in front of them.

“Kids, don’t attack!” He said, “Get out of here!”

“You would have been in trouble if it wasn’t for me, remember?” Todoroki protested “You need our help.”

“And I thank you for your assistance.” All Might responded “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just sit back and watch a pro at work!”

“But you’re hurt, and bleeding!” cried Izuku “And you’re almost out of ti-” Izuku managed to catch himself before the last word was out.

All Might simply smiled and nodded at him reassuringly, then turned to face the villains.

“Type: Null, kill him.” Said Shigaraki “I’ll deal with the children.”

“Welp, I guess we’re fighting after all.” Said Kirishima as he bared his claws in preparation to intercept Shigaraki.

When All Might and Type: Null ran at each other and clashed, however, the shockwave emanating from the impact was so potent that it blew everyone else away. Literally.

“Weren’t you listening?” said Shigaraki as he recovered from the blowback “One of his powers is Battle Armor!”

“Yeah? What about it?” said All Might as he continued to trade blows with Type: Null. Type: Null would strike with a talon, and All Might would respond by slashing at him with his paw only for Type: Null to tank the hit.

“Battle Armor is a Quirk that absorbs powerful attacks, but it doesn’t outright nullify them!” All Might exclaimed in between strikes “That means there’s a limit to how much damage you can take!”

Type: Null delivered a blow to All Might’s injured side, making him stumble. However, the Jolteon quickly regained his footing.

“If you were really made to withstand 100% of my power, then that only means I have to go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!” All Might tackled Type: Null with all his strength and bit down on one of his back legs, making the creature cry out in pain. Then All Might repeatedly slammed Type: Null into the ground over and over, destroying huge portions of the floor in the process. Izuku noted that the blows were calculated: all of them aimed at the head. Indeed, when the assault stopped and All Might allowed Type: Null to stand up, he was clearly disorientated and weakened. All Might took the opportunity to deliver a headbutt aimed straight at Type: Null’s stomach, the blow was so massive that it sent him flying right through the roof.

“Alright!” Kirishima pumped his fist “Looks like Type: Null’s blasting off!”

Unfortunately, the battle had clearly pushed All Might past his limit: thick smoke was coming out of him (though thankfully it was somewhat obscured by the dust clouds that had been lifted by his clash with Type: Null) and the Jolteon would soon be back into his emaciated form.

“You’ve been bested, villains. Surrender!” All Might said to Shigaraki and Kurogiri, who stared at him with a mix of fear and rage. Shigaraki started violently scratching at his own neck again.

“What’s wrong?” All Might taunted “Afraid of attacking me? You said your goal was to kill me, right? Come and get me if you dare.”

Shigaraki and Kurogiri backed away, visibly frightened.

Although All Might’s bluff was working, it was only that: a bluff. Izuku knew there was no way that he could fight off the villains anymore. All Might was at his limit. That’s why he was taunting them; he was trying to intimidate the villains into surrendering or retreating.

Frustratingly, however, the villains didn’t do either. Instead, Shigaraki continued to claw frantically at his own neck.

“If only Type: Null was here, he’d pound you into paste!” he growled.

“Tomura Shigaraki, calm down, you’ll give yourself another neck rash!” Kurogiri said to his comrade “All Might is clearly weakened by Type: Null’s attacks, the heroes still don’t have any reinforcements, and our underlings are regaining consciousness!”

It was true: the villains that All Might had knocked down upon arrival were getting back on their feet and were starting to surround the students.

Shigaraki regained his composure “You’re right.” He said “We haven’t missed our chance to kill All Might. But we have to do it now.” And Shigaraki and Kurogiri lunged at All Might, who was too exhausted to move or counterattack.

“Consider this revenge for what you did to Type: Null!” cried Shigaraki.

Izuku wasted no time in activating Extreme Evoboost and jumping to All Might’s defense. He broke his back legs in the process, but he didn’t care.

“DON’T YOU TOUCH ALL MIGHT, YOU STUPID VILLAINS!” cried Izuku as he aimed for Kurogiri’s metal plate.

“Sorry, child, but I’m not falling for that again!” said Kurogiri as he opened a portal that allowed one of Shigaraki’s hands to appear through. Being in mid-air, Izuku couldn’t dodge, and as soon as Shigaraki touched him, he’d crumble to dust. Shigaraki laughed the kind of deranged laugh that until then Izuku had only heard coming from movie bad guys. The real thing sounded FAR scarier.

_*BANG*_

A water bullet struck Shigaraki before he could reach Izuku. With a hiss, Shigaraki retracted the injured hand as Izuku flopped to the floor.

“Finally!” All Might sighed in relief “What took them so long?”

The reinforcements had arrived.

* * *

Now that the entire school faculty was here, the villains stood no chance. Although Shigaraki and Kurogiri managed to escape, the rest of the villains were apprehended, and the police even managed to retrieve Type: Null, who had crash-landed on a nearby forest. All Might and Izuku were taken to the nurse’s office while Aizawa and Thirteen were sent to the hospital, as the latter two’s injuries were too severe for Recovery Girl’s Heal Pulse to heal safely.

“This is the third time this week that your protégé fractures bones and has to see me for treatment, All Might.” Recovery girl sighed as she looked over the two Pokémon lying in parallel beds. “I know it wasn’t your fault, but still…”

Recovery Girl then hung a large board on the wall that read:

IZUKU MIDORIYA HAS GONE -- DAYS WITHOUT BREAKING HIMSELF

“Starting next week, let’s make it a goal for you to go at least three days without Quirk-induced fractures, alright, young mon?”

“Okay…” Izuku said half-heartedly.

“I’m not sure yet, but I think I shortened my time limit with Extreme Evoboost with that fight.” All Might lamented. “With any luck I can still hold my muscle form for at least an hour or so.”

There was a long silence. All Might had already told Izuku that upon passing Extreme Evoboost onto him, the time that the Jolteon could spend heroing would shorten at a faster rate than before, and today, he had exceeded his daily time limit to save Izuku and his classmates. Izuku felt horribly guilty about it; Extreme Evoboost was now with him, while All Might was coasting by on what amounted to the Quirk’s leftovers. Izuku needed to hurry and master the power before All Might lost his completely.

The door slid open, interrupting the silence, and in walked a Gumshoos, who gave All Might a friendly greeting.

“Tsukauchi?!” All Might coughed a little blood from the shock “I didn’t know you were investigating!”

“Wait, All Might!” Izuku struggled to lift his head “Is it okay for him to see you in this form?”

“It’s alright, young Midoriya.” Said All Might “He’s an old friend.”

“Sorry to cut to the chase, but I need to ask you some questions about today’s events.” Said Tsukauchi.

“Hold on,” said All Might, his voice anxious “Before that, can you please tell me if the rest of the students are okay? And will Eraserhead and Thirteen recover?”

“Well, aside from this young Eevee, the other students had only minor scrapes at worst.” Said Tsukauchi “And despite their injuries, both of the teachers are in stable condition and I think they’ll eventually recover fully.”

All Might and Izuku sighed in relief. It had been a rough day, to say the least. Izuku and his classmates had only just started hero high school and already they had gotten a close encounter with evil. But they had fought and survived, so even though they technically hadn’t gotten any classes, today’s events had taught them harsh lessons that they would carry with them for the rest of their lives.

* * *

Far away from UA High, in a bar hidden underneath an inconspicuous building, a portal of black mist materialized, out of which crawled Tomura Shigaraki.

“Ow…” Tomura groaned. He had been struck in both arms and legs by Snipe Shot, courtesy of an Inteleon UA teacher, and was bleeding quite a bit. As much as the Snipe Shot wounds hurt, though, the humiliation he felt about his mission’s spectacular failure hurt far worse.

“All our underlings were captured,” Tomura trembled with rage and pain “Type: Null was beaten, we were shown up by a bunch of kids, and the Symbol of Peace wasn’t weakened at all! You were wrong, Sensei!” Tomura glared at a TV screen at the end of the room.

“No, I wasn’t.” a deep, smooth voice coming from the TV answered calmly “We just weren’t as prepared as we should have been.”

“I agree, we underestimated them.” Said a different, more guttural voice coming from the same TV “But where is that creature that Sensei and I created? Where is Type: Null?”

“He was blown away by All Might.” Kurogiri answered “Without coordinates to his exact location I couldn’t use my Teleport to bring him with us, and we didn’t have any time to search for him.”

“WHAT?! You _lost_ Type: Null?!” the second voice snapped “You assholes, do you have _any_ idea the amount of work it took to make him as powerful as All Might?! I slaved away countless months of my life that I’m never getting back!”

“Temper, Doctor.” Said Sensei, who didn’t sound the slightest bit perturbed by the loss of his secret weapon. “What happened is unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. We’ll just have to change our approach.”

“‘As powerful as All Might’, huh.” Tomura mused “That reminds me, there was a kid there who tried to protect All Might, and he moved just as fast as him. I believe he was also just as strong.”

“Oh?” Sensei sounded intrigued “And what might this child’s species be?”

Tomura stared confused at the screen. “Why? What does it matter what species he is?”

“In the grand scheme of things, nothing.” Sensei answered, “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

“Well, if you must know, he was an Eevee.”

Tomura was not expecting Sensei to burst out laughing at this, but that’s exactly what happened.

“This is fantastic! It appears that the set is finally complete!” Sensei sounded like he had just delivered the ultimate punchline to the ultimate joke. A joke that Tomura just wasn’t getting.

“What set?” Asked Tomura, now more confused than ever, and admittedly a bit annoyed “What are you talking about, Sensei?!”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Sensei answered, still chuckling slightly “I was just thinking out loud.”

“In any case, if it wasn’t for that stupid little brat we might have succeeded in killing the Symbol of Peace!” furious, Tomura gnashed his teeth. It had been a long time since the Grimmsnarl felt a hatred this strong towards an individual, but today, that Eevee had made it to his hit list.

“Naturally, you’re upset.” Sensei said, his smooth voice as collected as ever “But this was not a futile mission; we learned some valuable new information. Mark my words, Tomura Shigaraki, in time you will become a symbol of your own, and then the world will know that it _should_ fear you.”

“As genuinely exciting as that sounds, Sensei, can you please send the Doctor over here first?” Kurogiri suddenly interjected “Tomura Shigaraki is bleeding all over the place…”


	8. Screw the Villains, We’re Running This Festival!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally arrive to the Festival Arc

Even though school had been cancelled for a day due to the villain attack, it was still surprising to see Aizawa-sensei teaching class right after: just one day of rest wasn’t nearly enough for his injuries to recover, so the students were treated to the bizarre sight of an Absol completely wrapped in bandages like a mummy teaching their class.

“Aizawa-sensei, pardon my intrusiveness, but shouldn’t you be resting right now?” Iida asked.

“Yes, well, substitute hero teachers are hard to find on short notice and I can still talk and move around just fine.” Aizawa deadpanned as he limped his way across the classroom with the aid of crutches that helped support his broken forelegs. “You kids aren’t getting rid of me _that_ easily.”

“Aw, but what makes you think we’d wanna get rid of you, sensei?” said Ashido “After how you fought so hard to protect us, 20 classmates out of 20 agree that you’re one badass teacher!”

The whole class cheered in agreement. Well, everyone except Kacchan, but even he grunted an approval.

“I am grateful for the compliment and this is heartwarming and all,” Aizawa said dryly “but your fight isn’t over: you all need to prepare for the upcoming Sports Festival.”

“Wait,” said Jiro “Is it a good idea to host that so soon after the villain attack?”

“That’s a valid concern,” said Aizawa-sensei “but the administration thinks that hosting the Sports Festival is a good way to show the public that the threat has been handled and that our school is safer than ever. They are beefing up security, after all. Besides, the Sports Festival is a huge opportunity for you students to get scouted by pros, so we can’t cancel something like this because of a few thugs.”

Despite some lingering doubt, it didn’t take long for Class 1-A to get into the festival spirit; everyone started coming up with ideas on how to refine their training for maximum efficiency, how to show off their Quirks during the event, and generally just wanting to stand out and catch the recruiters’ attention. Even Uraraka was acting uncharacteristically fired up and competitive, which threw the rest of the class for a loop.

* * *

“Hey, Uraraka, I’ve been meaning to ask… why did you decide to become a pro?” Izuku asked as he and his friends headed for the cafeteria.

“Oh! Well…” the Espurr suddenly seemed very uncomfortable and started fidgeting with her ears. “To be honest it’s… it’s for the money…”

“Then, you basically want to become a hero so you can get rich??” Izuku asked, admittedly a little surprised by the answer.

“I’m sorry!” Uraraka hid her face “I know I’m being so greedy compared to you two! It’s just… my parents’ company has struggled financially ever since I was a little kid, so I thought that becoming a hero would be the best way to earn lots of money and support them, let them have an easy life… that’s why I’m hoping to do well at the Sports Festival and earn myself a good internship.”

“Uraraka, that’s not greedy at all!” said Iida “Taking a career because you want to support yourself is a perfectly valid motivation! What’s more, you want to help your parents! I’d say that’s pretty heroic.”

“Yeah!” Izuku chimed in “If anything, your motives are way more grounded and sensible than ours!”

“Y-you think so?” Uraraka looked back and forth between Izuku and Iida.

Izuku and Iida nodded. True, Uraraka may not have a larger-than-life goal like wanting to save Pokémon for its own sake or wanting to continue a noble family tradition, but it was clear that her heart was in the right place.

“YOUNG MIDORIYA, THERE YOU ARE!” All Might made his appearance in his usual hammy way. With how big and loud the Jolteon was it was pretty strange that he always managed to catch everyone by surprise (like right now), since one would think he’d be easy to see coming.

“All Might! What are you doing here?” Izuku asked.

“Gonna eat lunch!” All Might replied simply “Wanna eat with me?”

Izuku thought this was a strange request, but he wasn’t going to decline an invitation from freaking _All Might_ , and neither Uraraka nor Iida minded (if anything, Uraraka seemed to think it was cute), so instead of eating lunch in the big and noisy cafeteria, Izuku instead found himself eating in All Might’s comparatively tiny and quiet office, in which privacy the Jolteon could afford to lounge about in his emaciated form.

“Young Midoriya,” said All Might after offering Izuku some tea “I brought you here to talk about the upcoming festival. You still can’t control Extreme Evoboost, so what’s your plan?”

“Wait, I did control it once! I think…” said Izuku “When I attacked that Type: Null guy, I didn’t break anything.”

“Oh, yeah.” Said All Might “What was different about that time?”

“I’m not sure…” said Izuku “maybe it’s because we were facing real villains, so I wasn’t really thinking? I guess I tense up during training or simulations and lose control as a result? Or maybe…” Izuku paused, trembling lightly “Maybe it’s because that was the first time I ever used my Quirk against a Pokémon instead of a robot or an object.”

“Hmm.” All Might hummed thoughtfully “Sounds like you subconsciously put on the breaks so you wouldn’t have to kill anyone. I’d say that’s at least some decent progress… by the way, your tea is getting cold.”

“Oh, thanks.” Said Izuku as he began to lap up the liquid in his bowl.

“To be frank, I don’t have much time left as the Symbol of Peace.” All Might stood up and walked towards a window and stared forlornly at the landscape “That battle against Type: Null ended up shortening my time limit again, and now I can only hold my hero form for about 50 minutes or so. Soon I’ll have to pass on my title to you.”

Izuku looked up from his drink and stared wide-eyed at All Might.

“Young Midoriya,” said All Might as he turned around to face his pupil “I gave you my power because I chose you to be the hero who takes my place! When we first met, you told me that you wanted to be a hero because you wanted fellow Pokémon to feel safe. Do you still feel the same way?”

“Yes! Of course!” said Izuku as he stood up, tail held high. The Eevee’s desire to save others is something that he’d aspired to ever since he could remember, and Izuku knew in his heart that that feeling was never going to change or fade away.

“Excellent!” said All Might “The time has come for you to prove it! The Sports Festival is something that the pros, no, the entire country will be watching very closely. I want you to think of it as your debut. The fledgling Symbol of Peace! The next All Might! Izuku Midoriya, I want you to introduce yourself to the world, and proudly say ‘I AM HERE!’”

Izuku tensed up. Sure, the fact that he was All Might’s successor means that he really should have seen a situation like this coming, but the young Eevee felt far from prepared for his “triumphant debut”. It was far too soon. He had performed the worst out of his classmates in the Quirk Fitness Test and he still couldn’t control Extreme Evoboost… based on these disadvantages, Izuku didn’t think he would inspire anybody at the Sports Festival.

“Ah, don’t look so nervous, kiddo!” said All Might “I understand the way you feel, and I admittedly may even be projecting on you a little, but I know that you’ll do great: back when we trained at the beach, you told me that you wanted to excel at heroism, and that kind of mindset can make all the difference.”

* * *

As the day of the festival drew closer and closer, Izuku got more and more nervous. It didn’t help that the fact that Class 1-A had recently fought off real villains drew a lot of attention from the other UA students. Case in point, today there was a huge herd of teenage Pokémon at Class 1-A’s door.

Without missing a beat, Kacchan took it upon himself to confront the crowd. “Now you all know what a _real_ future pro looks like.” He said, “Now move it, extras! You’re blocking the way!” This made the crowd of students visibly angry.

“Bakugo, you can’t just go around and call other Pokémon ‘extras’ just because you don’t know them!” Iida protested, trying to cool the situation.

“Can too, Four Eyes!” Kachan bit back “I mean, the author didn’t even bother specifying what species each of these losers is!”

“Pretty sure that has more to do with the fact that listing basically the entire Pokédex is kinda pointless, but sure, whatever floats your boat, Splody McSploshun.” Snarked Jiro.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST CALL ME YOU FREAKY-EARLOBED BAT?!” Kacchan yelled.

“What the hell, dude, you call everyone names all the time!” said Sero “Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it!”

“FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT I CAN BLAST YOU TO CINDERS, SHITTY BUG!”

“Friendly reminder that I don’t give a crap.” Sero crossed his leafy arms “And I know you wouldn’t dare, anyway.”

Just then, a Perrserker pushed his way to the front of the opposing crowd. “I’m Testutestu from Class 1-B!” he said, loudly “We all came here because we heard that you guys defeated some bad guys and wanted to see if that was true. But all I’m seeing is a bunch of stupid egomaniacal brats! You all clearly think you’re hot shit just because you fought real villains, but that’ll just make it all the sweeter when we knock you down a peg!” The rest of the crowd murmured angrily in agreement.

 _Crap, everyone hates our class now…_ Izuku thought as the knot in his stomach tightened.

“Nice going, Bakugo, thanks to you we just became public enemy #1!” said Kirishima.

Kacchan merely scoffed “These Pokémon don’t matter, what matters is that I’m gonna beat them all.”

And then Kacchan pushed himself through the shocked crowd and made his exit. Testutetsu shouted threats at him, but the Typhlosion ignored him.

* * *

Days went by, all of which were spent training in preparation for the upcoming event, and before Izuku knew it, it was the morning of the Festival.

Izuku and his classmates stood around in their designated waiting room. The tension and nervousness emanating from everyone was palpable.

“Everyone put on your game faces! We’re entering the arena soon!” Iida exclaimed as he burst through the door.

Izuku took a deep breath. This was it. His debut. He had promised to All Might that he’d present himself as the upcoming new Symbol of Peace. Yeah, this was fine! …It was fine… No pressure?

“Midoriya.”

Izuku turned his head and saw Todoroki approaching him. Out of all the students in his class, Izuku knew about Todoroki the least, since the Vulpix was notoriously aloof and distant, and Izuku had barely had any interaction with him at all, so it was quite a shock for Todoroki to be addressing Izuku specifically. The rest of the class seemed to think so too, as now everyone was staring at the Vulpix and Eevee.

“Hey, Todoroki, what’s up?” Izuku said timidly.

“From an objective standpoint, I’m better than you. I’m obviously way stronger than you are.” Todoroki said bluntly.

Okay, _harsh_ , but not something that Izuku could deny.

“However,” Todoroki narrowed his eyes “you’ve clearly got All Might in your corner helping you out.”

Izuku flinched _._ Not good! He had already screwed up with Kacchan, and here was another classmate being suspicious.

“Relax, I’m not going to pry about what’s going on between you two.” Said Todoroki, in a tone that was far from reassuring “But know that I _will_ beat you.”

“Whoa, what’s with the declaration of war?” asked a stunned Kaminari.

“Yeah, why are you suddenly picking a fight with Midoriya?” Kirishima approached them and placed a paw on Todoroki’s shoulder “And right before we get started, no less!”

“Maybe it’s different for all of you, but I didn’t enroll into UA to make friends.” Todoroki said as he curtly slapped Kirishima’s paw away “Don’t forget that this isn’t a team effort. The festival can only have one winner.” And with that, Todoroki turned his back on Izuku and started to walk away.

Izuku had no idea what Todoroki’s deal with him was, but…

“Wait a sec, Todoroki.”

The Vulpix turned his head and looked at Izuku.

Izuku took a deep breath before he resumed speaking “I don’t know why you felt the need to tell me that you’ll beat me. It’s true that you’re superior to me, but still… I accept your challenge, know that I am aiming for the top too!”

“Good.” Was Todoroki’s response.

After that, Class 1-A headed for the arena. Present Mic was the announcer, obviously, and he introduced their group first, evidently due to the recent publicity about the whole villain attack. After them came Class 1-B, followed by the General Studies, Support, and finally Business departments.

Upon seeing how many Pokémon were in the stands, Izuku’s nerves increased tenfold. Would he be able to put on a good performance in front of such a huge crowd? The fact that the rest of the first-year students kept giving him and his classmates angry looks wasn’t helping; they clearly still had a bad impression of Class 1-A and seemed to want to make that sentiment apparent.

“It’s going to be difficult to concentrate knowing that so many eyes are on us.” Iida said, as though he’d read Izuku’s mind “But this is just another aspect of being a hero. Big crowds are something we’ve all got to get used to.”

Iida was right. Izuku had resolved to follow on All Might’s pawsteps: if he wanted fellow Pokémon to feel safe in his presence, then the first step was to lose the stage fright.

At the end of the arena there was a stage where a Salazzle wearing a rather suggestive outfit greeted the first-year students. She was the R-Rated Hero, Midnight. It was strange that a hero with her theme was allowed to teach at a high school, but since most heroes -especially the high-profile ones- didn’t have enough free time for a teaching job, hero schools more often than not had to make do with what was available.

“Now for the introductory speech!” Midnight announced, “For the student pledge we have Katsuki Bakugo!”

The entirety of Class 1-A screamed internally as Kacchan walked towards the stage. Since the Typhlosion had gotten the highest score in the entrance exam, he’d been granted the honor of giving the opening speech to the Sports Festival. And right now, that was the worst possible predicament for his classmates.

From the corner of his eye, Izuku saw Kaminari crossing his fingers and whispering “Pleasedon’tblowitpleasedon’tblowitpleasedon’tblowit _Bakugofortheloveofallthatisgoodandsacredpleasedon’tblowitforus_!”

Kacchan leaned into the microphone and spoke. “I just wanna say… I’m gonna win.”

“…he blew it.” Kaminari whimpered as he uncrossed his fingers and let his paws hang limply at his sides.

Predictably, the rest of the first-year students started booing angrily. Great! If there was one thing Class 1-A was missing, it was even more animosity from Class 1-B and the other courses.

From there, things moved on quickly. The first event of the festival was an obstacle race, which would take place in a track that surrounded the stadium. Izuku knew he couldn’t rely on Extreme Evoboost, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

Todoroki gained an early lead thanks to his Quirk, which allowed him to freeze a good chunk of the competitors, and of those who were lucky enough to escape that fate, such as Izuku, still had to deal with moving around on a slippery surface (except of course, those lucky enough to be Flying-types. Granted, the rules enforced a limit on how high they could fly, since otherwise it wouldn’t be much of an obstacle course for them). After that came the robots. They were the exact same ones used for the entrance exam. Even the gigantic zero-pointers were there. But once again, Todoroki cleared the obstacle without much difficulty: one Subzero Slammer was all it took to overcome the zero-pointer blocking his way and remain in the lead. Of course, that still left plenty of robots to keep everyone else occupied.

Since Izuku didn’t want to resort to Extreme Evoboost this early into the competition, he settled for trying to find openings whenever other students destroyed any robots. The young Eevee watched as the rest of his classmates used their powers to get around the robots: Kacchan using Lava Plume to either blow them to pieces or as a way to propel himself into the air and avoid them altogether, Uraraka levitating them away with Psychic, Iida using Extremespeed to dodge them, Tokoyami fighting them off with Night Shade, Yaoyorozu pulling out _a cannon_ out of her tail feathers to blast them away, Kaminari overpowering them with Discharge, Aoyama firing off Signal Beams left and right, Kirishima breaking through them by strengthening his rock-hard body with Bulk Up, Ojiro striking them with Iron Tail, Ashido melting them with Acid Spray, Jiro destabilizing them with Supersonic, and so on.

Izuku spotted a piece of robot lying on the ground and quickly ran to pick it up. The metal was bigger than him, so it’d slow him down, but Izuku figured he could use it as a form of offense and defense to make up for the unreliability of his Quirk.

Eventually they made it to the second obstacle, which was a huge canyon that Present Mic referred to as “The Fall”. It notably had a huge, spider web-like net surrounding it, which was clearly meant to serve as an obstacle for those students who were either Flying-types or had a Quirk that allowed them to float or levitate. Those Pokémon who couldn’t fly had to walk across via rope, and since Izuku was carrying a huge piece of metal, this naturally made him fall even further behind. Then came the final obstacle: a minefield. This one turned out to be the trickiest, as many students ended up unwittingly setting off the buried bombs due to hastiness. The explosions were weak to avoid causing any serious damage, but they lifted a ton of dust that even impeded the progress of flying and levitating Pokémon. Even Todoroki, who had managed to keep his lead throughout, was forced to slow down considerably, though in his case it was partially because Kacchan had managed to catch up to him and the two were locked in a bit of a scuffle as they tried to outrun each other. Even so, Izuku knew there was no way he’d catch up to them. Unless...

Izuku quickly began to dig up as many of the untouched land mines as he could and gathered them into a pile, then, using the piece of metal he’d been dragging with him as a shield/makeshift surfboard, Izuku slammed into the mines as hard as he could.

_Thanks for the inspiration, Kacchan!_

The blast was potent enough that it instantly propelled the Eevee upwards and forward, clearing most of the minefield in a single leap and finally closing the gap between him and Todoroki and Kacchan and even overtaking them.

Of course, Todoroki and Kacchan weren’t just going to give up their lead to Izuku that easily, and with the aid of their Quirks, they chased after him in hot pursuit.

“JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, DEKU?!” Izuku heard Kacchan scream at him from behind. It sounded awfully close, though. Even worse, Izuku was losing speed and altitude. His rivals would catch up to him soon.

Thinking fast, Izuku positioned himself so that he could slam his trusty piece of metal into the landmine-filled ground and once again use the blast to propel himself forward and clear the obstacle. Then when the Eevee’s paws touched the ground, he took off running as fast as he could to the arena.

* * *

_“And the first student to make it back to the stadium is… Izuku Midoriya!”_

Izuku panted heavily with exhaustion. He’d done it. He’d won. He looked around as the crowd cheered for him, and there he saw All Might (in his emaciated form) smiling proudly at him. Izuku somehow managed to smile back, but he was quickly overwhelmed by emotion and started tearing up. _No. No no no no. Don’t cry in public._ Izuku hastily wiped his tears away.

Of course, there were still two more competitions left, so this was far from over. Izuku knew that the true test to his abilities was yet to come.


	9. The Hybrid Son of Ice and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoto reveals his backstory

Only the first 42 students to make it to the arena where allowed to advance to the next round, which was announced to be a Cavalry Battle, where the only rule was that the team leader could not touch the ground. For this, each of the contestants was assigned points based on their placement in the obstacle course, and as the first place, Izuku had been assigned a whopping ten million points. This turned out to be far more of a curse than a blessing: the fact that Izuku had the highest score by far meant that everyone would be after his team, and the fact that everyone would be after his team meant that finding teammates was a difficult task because _nobody_ wanted to be a target.

“Hey, Deku, let’s team up!”

It was Uraraka, saving Izuku’s skin once again.

“Are-are you sure you wanna team up with me?” asked Izuku. “With all the points I have everybody’s gonna be after me!”

“If we run away that won’t be a problem!” Uraraka said cheerfully “Besides, it’s better to team up with Pokémon you like!”

Izuku thought his heart was about to burst from sheer emotion. His tail was wagging frenetically.

“Are you okay?” Uraraka asked. “Your face looks weird and I’m pretty sure your tail just became a fan.”

“I’m fine!” Izuku took a moment to compose himself “Sorry, I’m just so happy that at least one Pokémon wanted to team up with me. But we can’t make a proper team with just the two of us. And I think know just who to ask to join.”

Izuku and Uraraka walked over to Iida and asked him to join, even telling him of a plan to combine his Extremespeed with Uraraka’s Psychic to be practically uncatchable. Unfortunately, Iida declined.

“Please don’t take this as an insult, you’re a great friend, Midoriya.” said the Lucario “But I’ll never get stronger if I keep following you, so just like Todoroki and Bakugo, I’ll do my best to defeat you.”

“Well, what now?” Uraraka asked as she hastily looked around as if hoping for a miracle to pop up.

“I don’t know…” said Izuku. Most Pokémon seemed to already have their teams formed.

“There you are, First Place! TEAM UP WITH ME!”

Izuku and Uraraka turned around to see a Mareanie grinning widely at them. She was decked out in strange gadgets and gizmos and was carrying a briefcase that was almost as big as her.

“Who are you?” Izuku asked, admittedly a bit unnerved by the Mareanie’s forwardness.

“The name’s Mei Hatsume!” she said “I’m from the Support Course, and I’d like to use your current score to my personal advantage! Everyone in the audience will naturally be paying the most attention to you since you have the ten million points, giving me the best opportunity to show off my precious babies to the world!”

Well, at least she was honest, but the lack of sense of personal space was a bit off-putting: Izuku kept having to step back since with every word, Hatsume just leaned closer and closer to him until their faces were practically touching.

Hatsume showed Izuku and Uraraka her gadgets, which fortunately would come in handy. However, they still needed one more teammate, someone who had a good balance of offense and defense, and maybe even the ability to fight at long range, since nobody in the current lineup could do that… there was only one Pokémon that Izuku knew could fill that spot. Izuku looked around the crowd until he found who he was looking for and walked over to them.

* * *

With his team complete and a strategy formed just before the Cavalry Battle started, Izuku couldn’t hope to be in a better position. Thanks to a huge stroke of luck, Tokoyami had not yet been selected for a team when Izuku reached out to him, and after hearing his plan, the Murkrow readily agreed to join. With the headband worth ten million points attached to his head and supported by his teammates, Izuku braced himself for battle.

Predictably, as soon as the game started, every team made a run for Izuku’s.

“They’re not even giving us a chance.” Tokoyami sighed “Such is the fate of the pursued…”

Thanks to Hatsume’s gadgets in tandem with Uraraka’s Psychic providing evasiveness and Tokoyami’s Night Shade providing defense, Izuku and his team managed to counter all attacks that were aimed at them and maintain their high score for quite a while. It did help that other craftier Pokémon took advantage of the fact that Izuku’s team being the main target meant that other teams could have their points taken rather easily, and this resulted in the Cavalry Battle eventually evening itself out into more of a proper free-for-all. Even Kacchan, who Izuku had expected to be the most relentless in hunting him and his teammates down, eventually chose to focus all his energy in chasing after another team led by a Purrloin student from Class 1-B due to them stealing Kacchan’s points. Of course, that didn’t mean that Izuku’s team was off the hook just yet, and eventually, they came face to face with Todoroki’s team, which incidentally was the team that Iida had decided to join.

“I’ll be taking your headband now.” Todoroki said bluntly but calmly.

Todoroki’s team combination was formidable: between Iida’s Extremespeed providing amazing mobility and Kaminari’s Discharge being a powerful offense, the side-effects of which were mitigated by Yaoyorozu’s ability to create protective items, Izuku and his team had a tough fight: Tokoyami’s Night Shade was the only true countermeasure they had against Kaminari’s electricity, but unfortunately the shadowy creature was weakened by light, so taking repeated blows was only making Izuku’s team more and more vulnerable.

Eventually, Todoroki’s team backed Izuku’s into a corner, and thanks to Iida’s Extremespeed, finally grabbed Izuku’s ten-million-point headband. But Izuku’s team was not one to give up, and they made chase.

“Come on, Deku, let’s get our points back!” Uraraka shouted.

Izuku nodded and activated Extreme Evoboost for the first time in the whole festival and feinted an attack against Todoroki, who tried to block it with a small blast of flame. Izuku ultimately managed to grab onto one of the Vulpix’s bands only to find out that he’d switched their order around and Izuku had gotten one with a lower point score. Not nearly enough to make it to the next round. Fortunately, however, Tokoyami and Night Shade had taken advantage of the fact that Todoroki had been focused solely on defending his head and nabbed a couple more bands hanging from his neck, which gave Midoriya’s team just enough points to advance to the next round.

Izuku was so relieved and elated at the fact that his team had made it that he burst into tears so intense that they buried him halfway through the ground and left Uraraka, Tokoyami and Hatsume completely soaked.

“…Wow, Midoriya.” Said Tokoyami as he shook his feathers dry “Those tear ducts of yours are something else.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Uraraka shook herself as well, becoming hilariously puffy once she was done.

“Eh, it’s pretty toasty today, so I find this quite refreshing!” said Hatsume. “Good thing my babies are all waterproof!”

* * *

Now that the Cavalry Battle was over, it was time for a lunch break. Izuku was about to head out to grab a bite when he was suddenly stopped by Todoroki.

“I’d like to speak to you in private.” He said.

Todoroki then took Izuku to an isolated hallway, where the two stood at opposite ends staring at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Izuku gulped. Although Todoroki lacked Kacchan’s furious grimace, there was still something equally unnerving about the way the Vulpix was staring at him: his expression was cold, stoic, and completely unreadable. It was basically the complete antithesis of Kacchan’s overt rage.

“Um…” Izuku squeaked “H-hey, we should probably eat soon. The cafeteria is gonna be packed if we don’t hurry… don’t you think?”

Todoroki just continued to stare at Izuku for a while longer before finally speaking up.

“You overwhelmed me.” He said “And by doing so you forced me to use the flames of my left side if only for a split second. Something I promised to myself long ago that I’d never do.”

Izuku blinked. Now that he thought about it, Todoroki did seem to greatly favor using his ice: throughout the entire tournament, ice was the only thing Todoroki had used, even though using his fire would have likely allowed him to easily dominate all the challenges.

Todoroki looked down at his left paw, as if lost deep in thought. “Iida, Kaminari, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami…” the Vulpix mused “None of them seemed to feel it. But for a single moment, I sensed your true power, Midoriya. It reminded me a lot of All Might’s Quirk.”

Izuku felt his fur stand on end. This was not good! Had Todoroki figured out All Might’s secret?

“O-oh yeah?” Izuku said, trying as hard as he could to sound oblivious “Is-is that all?”

“I’m saying that your power is the same as All Might’s.” said Todoroki, who was still staring down at his paw “And you’re an Eevee, whereas All Might is a Jolteon. And Jolteon is one of the Eevee species’ evolved forms.”

“…You’re observant.” Was all Izuku could say. Izuku had always been happy with the species he was born as, but now he kinda wished he and All Might didn’t have that connection. Now the similarities between the two were so ridiculously blatant that of course no Pokémon who noticed them would be stupid enough to think it was all just a coincidence! As a result, Izuku couldn’t help but feel that maybe All Might had made a huge oversight by picking an Eevee as his successor.

“Midoriya, tell me…” Todoroki lifted his head and locked eyes with Izuku, who was now so nervous that he had started trembling “are you All Might’s secret lovechild or something?”

Up until that very moment, Izuku didn’t think it was possible to feel both relief and complete shock at the same time. _Am I- WHAT?!_

Okay, to be fair, that conclusion was a way more natural one to come to than making the crazy assumption that All Might’s Quirk was transferable, but still!

Todoroki tilted his head “Well, are you?”

Izuku snapped out of his shock-induced trance. “No!” the Eevee frantically shook his head “No way! That’s not it at all! Though I guess even if I was All Might’s lovechild I’d still tell you that I wasn’t-but-I-guess-it’s-pointless-eitherwaybecauseyouprobablywouldn’tbelieveme!”

Izuku realized he was rambling and speaking too fast, so he paused and took a deep breath “Anyway, I promise, you’ve got the wrong idea. All Might and I have no blood relation whatsoever. But why would you even think that? You do know that just because two Pokémon are the same species it doesn’t mean they’re automatically related, right?”

“‘That’s not it at all’ is interesting wording.” Said Todoroki, his six tails flicking in synchrony. “Even if there truly is no blood relation, your answer still suggests that there _is_ a connection between you and All Might. One that you’re not supposed to talk about.”

Izuku flinched. Crap! He really needed to watch what came out of his mouth…

“My father is Endeavor.” The Vulpix continued “You’re clearly a hero fanboy, Midoriya, so you most likely know that Endeavor is the #2 hero. And if you’re connected to the #1 hero, then that means I have even more reason to beat you.”

“What are you talking about, Todoroki?” Izuku asked.

“My father is an ambitious Pokémon.” Todoroki explained “He has always aimed for the top, and he used his power to make a name for himself as a hero. However, he was never able to best All Might, so the Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure, but Endeavor hasn’t given up trying. Now he’s just going about it in a more… vicarious way.”

“I still don’t understand what you’re saying…” said Izuku. “What are you trying to tell me?”

The Vulpix gave Izuku a somber look. “Just by looking at me, anyone can obviously tell that I’m a Hybrid. Do you know the history of Hybrids, Midoriya?”

“Only bits and pieces.” Izuku answered. “I know that Hybrids started appearing shortly after the emergence of Quirks, that they’re extremely rare, and that they can only be born as Pokémon species that have regional variants.” _…like you_ , Izuku finished mentally.

“Yes, that’s correct.” Todoroki nodded approvingly “You’ve got the basic gist of it down pat. However, there is more to Hybrids than just that. See, the fact that we popped into the world so soon after Quirks emerged is no coincidence. You know how although most Pokémon only have one Quirk, sometimes there are a lucky few who have two? Well, as it turns out, Hybrids have a significantly higher chance to be born with two Quirks than other Pokémon do, so once Quirks became a staple in society, certain unscrupulous folk quickly started seeking out the right mates so they could produce offspring that would have high chances of inheriting powerful double Quirks. The practice is highly frowned upon nowadays, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean it has completely stopped: my father Endeavor is an Emboar, and my mother is an Alolan Ninetales, and both have Kantonian Ninetales ancestry, which means that there’s enough genetic material between the two of them to potentially produce a Hybrid.”

Izuku’s eyes widened in horror as it began to dawn on him just what the Vulpix was getting at.

“Yeah.” Todoroki sighed bitterly “I was basically the result of a eugenics experiment. My father is loaded from all the money he receives from his work as such a high-ranking hero, so he paid a generous sum to my mother’s relatives for her paw in marriage. She has a powerful Ice-type Quirk, Subzero Slammer. Endeavor, in turn, has the devastating Fire-type Inferno Overdrive. He hoped that one of his children would be born with the ideal combination, and that turned out to be oh-so-lucky me. As soon as I was born, my older siblings were dismissed as failures, and I was isolated from them and forced to undergo torturous training from a young age.”

Todoroki paused and took a deep, shaky breath before resuming “Of course, Endeavor didn’t treat the rest of my family any more fairly; he completely neglected my siblings, casted them aside simply because they weren’t born with the power he desired. He also tended to lash out and hit my mother whenever he was in a bad mood, something that, as you might imagine, happened very frequently.”

Todoroki then raised his paw and pointed at a bare patch of scarred skin surrounding his left eye.

“You see this?” he said “My mother did this to me. Endeavor’s abuse eventually caused her to suffer a mental breakdown, which culminated with her pouring boiling hot water on the Fire-type side of my face. The half that looks too much like my father.”

Izuku felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to say something but was coming up with nothing. Then again, what could one possibly say in response to a situation like what Todoroki had been through? No words could offer consolation from _that_.

“So, that’s why I don’t like to use my left side, and why I chose to pick a fight with you.” Said Todoroki, his face contorting into a scowl “I want to prove to my disgusting pig of a father that I reject his power, and that I can take first place without using it. And you are obviously connected to All Might, Midoriya, even if you won’t tell me about it. So, if I defeat you by relying only on the Quirk I inherited from my mother, then it’d be the ultimate insult towards Endeavor.”

Todoroki then began to turn around to leave “It doesn’t matter how fiercely you come at me in the future, Midoriya: I will defeat you using only Subzero Slammer.”

“Hey, wait!” Izuku ran after Todoroki, who stopped and turned his head towards the Eevee.

“I’m only here because other Pokémon have supported me.” Izuku said “I’ve been really lucky in that sense. If anything, I’ve had even more help ever since I came to UA. Truth is, I want to be just like All Might: a fearless hero who saves others with a smile on his face, and to do that I have to be strong enough to become #1.” Izuku paused for a bit, feeling the sudden breeze caressing his fur “I know my motivation may be stupid compared to yours, but I can’t afford to lose either! I owe it to everyone who supported me! Earlier, you declared war on me, well, right back at you. I am going to beat you!”

The two young Pokémon stared at each other; their expressions equally determined. Todoroki then turned around and resumed walking without saying another word.

Morosely, Izuku headed for the cafeteria, hoping there was still enough time left to eat lunch. The things that Todoroki had told him were reverberating in his mind: Endeavor the #2 hero being so consumed by ambition that he had essentially thrown his entire family under the bus just so he’d have a shot at ultimate glory. To tell the truth, even before Izuku knew about Endeavor’s domestic abuse, the Emboar had easily been one of his least favorite heroes due to the guy’s detached and generally curt attitude towards his work and fans. However, Izuku had still held a degree of admiration and respect towards Endeavor for his undeniable skill and power, but now, after what Todoroki had said, even that had evaporated into the ether. As far as Izuku was concerned, Endeavor didn’t deserve to be called a hero, let alone hold such a high ranking.

Izuku thought about how different his and Todoroki’s backgrounds were: Izuku was middle-class, and although his father had been an absent figure throughout his life, and he’d suffered intense bullying from his peers starting from when he was first discovered to be Quirkless all the way to his last year of Middle School, at least Izuku still had a loving mother and later All Might as a supportive mentor figure in his life. Plus, now that he had gained a Quirk and entered High School, Izuku was not the target of bullying anymore. Todoroki, by contrast, was wealthy due to his relation to Endeavor, but his family life was a complete tragic disaster, and if Endeavor didn’t allow him to interact with his own siblings, chances are Todoroki had also not made any childhood friends at all. It was sobering to think of just how much harsher life had been for Todoroki despite seemingly being the more privileged one on the surface.

Izuku sighed. Although it was true that he would do his best to defeat Todoroki, the reality was that more than anything, Izuku wanted to help him: the poor Vulpix was clearly in a lot of emotional pain, and the way he was trying to cope with it by repressing half of his powers would likely end up hurting him in the future.

The Eevee shook his head. _No, focus. You’re in a competition right now. You can’t concern yourself with Todoroki’s issues with Endeavor right now. Besides, what could you possibly do?_

Even so, Izuku knew that he couldn’t just ignore Todoroki’s problem either: even if there was noting that the Eevee could do to help Todoroki _now_ , he still thought he had to at least _try_ to do something later.

* * *

Shoto left the conversation with Midoriya with a lump on his throat. Not because Midoriya had challenged him right back -on the contrary, Shoto was happy for that- but because Shoto had just talked about the sensitive issue of his… family problems. Shoto wasn’t an open Pokémon to begin with, and his issues with his father were not something he wanted others knowing; Midoriya was the first Pokémon that Shoto had ever talked to about that, but then again, if the Eevee was to be Shoto’s designated rival, he deserved to know the reason why, and the fact that Endeavor was present at the festival, watching and vainly hoping that he’d see his Hybrid Vulpix son use his wretched Inferno Overdrive, only made Shoto even more determined to not give his father any sort of validation.

Lunch was over quickly, and everyone was soon back at the stadium for the final round of the festival. Of the 42 students that had participated in the Cavalry Battle, 4 teams of 4 had qualified, meaning the number of contestants was now down to 16. The final event was, of course, a series of one-on-one tournament battles.

Before the matchups were decided, though, Ojiro and a student from Class 1-B requested to withdraw. Their reasoning for doing so was strange; something about not knowing how they’d won and feeling that it “wouldn’t be right”. Regardless, Midnight allowed it, and two Class 1-B students were selected to take their places: Testutetsu and a Servine named Ibara Shiozaki.

After that odd development was over, the matchups for the first round were decided, and it turned out that Midoriya would be fighting first, followed by Shoto’s match. Shoto’s eyes widened slightly at this: the placement of the fights meant that if Midoriya managed to emerge victorious in his match, then he’d be fighting Shoto in the second round.

Shoto was quite confident that he would win the match against his own opponent fairly easily: Sero’s String Shot was certainly a versatile Quirk, and it might cause some minor problems if the Leavanny used it creatively, but it offered very little in the way of offensive utility, and it was certainly no match for Shoto’s Subzero Slammer. The real issue was whether Midoriya could defeat his opponent, who was someone named Hitoshi Shinzo. Unfortunately, Shoto had no idea who that was, or even how they’d made it to the tournament round -he’d been so focused on Midoriya that he’d neglected to pay proper attention to the rest of the teams in the Cavalry Battle- so there was no way of knowing what they were capable of.

That Midoriya had been matched up against such an enigmatic opponent was annoyingly bad luck: if this Shinzo turned out to have some crazy surprise and defeated Midoriya, then Shoto would lose the chance to prove himself.

Feeling like someone was watching him, Shoto looked up towards the stands and saw Endeavor glaring at him. Shoto looked away.

 _Midoriya,_ the Vulpix thought as he gritted his teeth in anger and frustration, _you better win that fight_.


	10. Silhouettes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing that one plot point that won't be properly explained until much, MUCH later.

Izuku looked around for his upcoming opponent, a student he was sure he hadn’t seen nor met before.

_Hitoshi Shinzo, Hitoshi Shinzo… who was that again? I don’t remember seeing them…_

“Hello there, Izuku Midoriya. That’s you, right?” Said someone standing right behind Izuku.

Startled by how close the voice was, Izuku yelped and turned around to see a Malamar smiling cordially at him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Said the Malamar “I’m your opponent for the upcoming round. Are you excited?”

Oh. So _this_ was Shinzo. Freaky introduction aside, the guy seemed amicable. It was nice to have a friendly opponent for once.

“Yeah,” Izuku began “I-”

Izuku was suddenly cut off by Ojiro putting his tail-hand over the Eevee’s muzzle.

“Not so fast, Squidward.” Ojiro glared at Shinzo, who simply smirked and walked away.

Once the Malamar had disappeared among the crowd of other contestants, Ojiro released Izuku.

“Hey,” Izuku turned to look at the Aipom “what’s the big deal?”

Ojiro gave Izuku a serious look. “You can’t say anything to that guy.”

“Huh?” Izuku tilted his head “What do you mean?”

 _“Okay, let’s pause for a momentary interlude!”_ Present Mic announced, _“Before the battles begin, it’s time for some fun side games!”_

“Oh, good.” Said Ojiro “We can use that time to talk.”

Ojiro and Izuku went to the arena’s waiting room while everyone else either played or got ready for their upcoming matches.

“That Malamar, Hitoshi Shinzo, was the leader of my team in the Cavalry Battle.” Ojiro explained “Okay, no, ‘leader’ is too kind a word. More accurate would be to say that he was a puppet master.”

Izuku blinked “Huh, ‘puppet master’?

Ojiro nodded. “See, Shinzo is in General Studies, but his Quirk is a scary one.” The Aipom briefly paused and shuddered. “The reason I decided to withdraw from the tournament battle is because he used his Quirk to control me: I was never responsible for any of my actions back at the Cavalry Battle, meaning I didn’t win through my own merits.”

Izuku gulped. “So, you’re saying that Shinzo’s Quirk is that he can mind-control others?”

“Yes, but there is a catch.” Said Ojiro “See, Shinzo didn’t get into my head until I replied to one of his questions, so I think his power only works if you speak to him.”

Izuku felt a shiver run down his spine “Whoa… then that means I have to be careful not to say anything or I’ll lose for sure!”

“Well, not necessarily.” Said Ojiro “Even if Shinzo does get you, there’s still a slight chance of breaking out of his spell: near the end of the Cavalry Battle, I bumped into someone and suddenly my mind was cleared… but then again, this _is_ going to be a 1-v-1 match, so it’s not like you can rely on outside interference to bail you out… yeah, you know what, forget the bit about bumping into someone to break out of the trance; just focus on keeping your mouth shut so he can’t use his mind control on you in the first place. Heck, I don’t even know how strong of a hit would be needed to break his mental hold.”

Izuku frowned as his mind processed this information. Even if Shinzo’s Quirk only worked on an opponent that spoke to him, that was still an amazing power, so how come he was not in the Hero Course?

“Well,” said Ojiro as he stretched his tail “I really wish I could give you better advice, but this is all I can do for you.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it!” said Izuku “Thank you so much, Ojiro!”

Ojiro nodded “I know this sounds selfish, but I’ll say it anyway: Beat this guy for the both of us.” Ojiro then offered Izuku a fistbump… with his tail, of course.

“I’ll do my best!” Izuku smiled and returned Ojiro’s gesture by brushing his own tail against the Aipom’s.

* * *

Once Cementoss had finished preparing the arena, it was time for the tournament battles to get started.

 _“Hey, sports fans, are you ready?! The final event of the Sports Festival is about to begin!”_ Present Mic cried enthusiastically from his announcing booth. The crowd cheered.

Izuku waited in the hallway for his cue to go out into the arena, listening to the chorus of excited voices. The Eevee closed his eyes, trying to suppress his trembling and steel his nerves.

“Hey there!”

“All Might!” Izuku said as he turned to face his mentor “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you might be nervous, so I decided to come and give you some last-minute encouragement.” Said All Might “I’m also glad to see that you’re finally learning to harness Extreme Evoboost.”

Izuku lowered his head. “No, the truth is that I haven’t learned to control Extreme Evoboost yet… I’m still afraid to use it. I tried to imagine how I felt when attacking that villain, but I’m still not in control… it’s frustrating that even after so much training my body’s still too weak to handle it at full power.”

“Yeah,” All Might said thoughtfully “Right now you would probably only be able to use about 5% of it safely, I think.”

“What, only _5%_?!” cried Izuku before his mood slumped back down again “Wow… I guess I really have only been getting by through luck and my friends helping me out…”

All Might groaned slightly and shook his head. “Kid, there’s no such thing as luck, and you’ll never become the kind of hero that you want to be by believing in such bogus concepts.” The Jolteon then began to shift into his muscle form “Listen, whenever you’re scared or nervous about a fight, just try to deal with it by smiling! You’ve made it this far, and luck had nothing to do with it, so enough with the self-deprecation! Remember that I’ll be cheering you on.”

Izuku perked up and stood a little taller. “Thanks, All Might.”

* * *

 _“All right, audience! It’s time to get to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer!”_ Present Mic shouted from atop the announcing booth _“Our first fight of the tournament will be Izuku Midoriya from the Hero Course versus Hitoshi Shinzo from General Studies! The rules are simple: you can win by immobilizing your opponent or knocking them out of the ring! Or by getting them to surrender, that counts too! Remember, although we have Recovery Girl on standby, doing anything that might be life-threatening against the opponent is a big no-no!”_

Izuku and Shinzo walked into the ring from opposite ends and took up their respective battle positions.

“So,” Shinzo said as soon as the cue to begin the match was given “apparently it’s okay for a Pokémon to just give up, huh? In a way, this is a test of how strong your spirit is, yet that Aipom friend of yours decided to throw away his chances because of some ridiculous sense of pride and honor.” Shinzo smirked “If you ask me, he’s the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.”

Upon hearing his friend being insulted, Izuku felt so enraged that he instantly forgot that he shouldn’t speak to this particular opponent.

“Don’t you _dare_ talk about Ojiro that way, you hear me?!” Izuku rushed at Shinzo, only for his mind to suddenly go blank. Izuku stopped in his tracks.

Izuku knew that he was still in the arena, but for some reason he couldn’t see it anymore, nor could he hear the crowd around him. It felt like he’d been enveloped by a thick fog. The only thing that remained visible was Shinzo, who was staring at him and smirking. The yellow markings in his body constantly flickering on and off with bioluminescent lights.

“That’s it.” Izuku heard Shinzo say, “I win.”

Izuku tried to move, but his muscles weren’t responding. It was like he was like someone had hit pause on his entire body.

“So here we are,” said Shinzo, whose face had contorted into a frown “you’re lucky to have been so blessed, Izuku Midoriya. Now, turn around and walk out of bounds like a good little hero.”

Slowly, Izuku did as he was told and slowly started walking towards the end of the battle arena. The Eevee desperately tried to stop himself, to turn back around and engage Shinzo in proper battle, but his body wasn’t obeying him. It was just moving on autopilot against Izuku’s will.

 _No! It can’t end like this! Dammit… Ojiro warned me about this and I still fell for it. I’m such an idiot!_ Izuku thought miserably as he desperately kept trying to no avail to get his body to do anything other than walk out of bounds. _I’m going to lose! Even though so many Pokémon are counting on me!_

Suddenly, eight silhouettes appeared in front of him. They were shrouded in darkness, so Izuku couldn’t see their features aside from their glowing eyes, but he could still tell what Pokémon they were: a Vaporeon, a Flareon, an Espeon, an Umbreon, a Leafeon, a Glaceon, a Sylveon, and a suspiciously familiar-looking Jolteon.

Izuku could now feel Extreme Evoboost’s power coursing through him, and then, he slammed his left paw into the ground _hard_ , lifting an intense gust of wind. Izuku heaved and panted as he realized that he’d somehow managed to stop mere centimeters from walking over the arena’s boundary line. Izuku then realized that his mind had cleared: the fog and the strange silhouettes were gone, and he could see and hear the stadium’s roaring crowd again. Somehow, miraculously, Izuku had managed to break out of Shinzo’s spell. He’d also broken the toes of the paw he’d used Extreme Evoboost with.

“How?!” cried a dumbfounded Shinzo “You’re not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?!”

Not wanting to fall for the brainwashing twice, Izuku clamped his mouth shut. It’s not like he could answer the Malamar’s question anyway, as Izuku himself was not quite sure of what exactly he’d done: why were his evolved forms there? Were they a vision of the future? A mental representation of Izuku’s desire to evolve? Panic-induced hallucination? Then Izuku remembered what All Might had told him about Extreme Evoboost being a Quirk that accumulated power as it passed on. Then… maybe those Eeveelutions were the Pokémon who had wielded Extreme Evoboost before him? It _would_ explain why the Jolteon silhouette looked so much like All Might…

“Come on, _how did you break out of the trance_?!”

Shinzo’s scream brought Izuku back to Earth. The Eevee shook his head. He’d have to figure this out later; right now, he had to win this fight.

“That Quirk of yours is amazing for being able to break you out of my Hypnosis! You just gotta tell me how it works!”

Izuku noticed that Shinzo’s tone was friendlier than before; the Malamar was trying to goad him into speaking again. However, Izuku wasn’t going to fall for it, so instead he rushed at his opponent, ignoring the aching pain in his fractured paw as he ran.

“Because I can control Pokémon with my Quirk, I’ve always been looked down on and treated like a villain!” Shinzo’s voice now sounded embittered and resentful “But someone like you, who has such a cool and heroic Quirk, wouldn’t understand that! It’ll be so easy for you to reach your goal! Not like me: I couldn’t even get into the Hero Course because my power isn’t suited for physical combat!”

Izuku felt a pang of guilt. He knew that resentment all too well: back when he was still Quirkless, Izuku sometimes couldn’t help but feel a degree of jealousy towards his Quirked peers despite overall admiring and looking up to them. Izuku had been incredibly lucky to have met All Might and been bestowed a powerful Quirk that would allow him to achieve his dreams. There was something tragic, almost hilarious, about the irony that Shinzo had no way of knowing that he had a lot in common with his opponent despite their different backgrounds. Regardless, this was still a fight, so Izuku tackled Shinzo and started pushing him towards the boundary.

“Say something, dammit!” Shinzo struck Izuku’s face with one of his tentacles. It hurt, but the Eevee held his ground and continued pushing his opponent.

Shinzo struck again, this time with more force which allowed him to free himself from Izuku’s grasp and start pushing _him_ out of the boundary instead.

“JUST GET OUT OF THIS RING YOU LUCKY BRAT!”

Izuku then bit down on one of Shinzo’s tentacles and, just like he’d done in his first combat exercise against Kacchan, flipped him over and slammed him into the ground, causing the Malamar to land over the boundary line.

“Shinzo is out of bounds!” said Midnight “Izuku Midoriya will advance to the next round!”

The crowd cheered. Izuku stared at his defeated opponent. It hadn’t been a long fight, and aside from the broken paw Izuku hadn’t gotten any injuries, but even so, he felt exhausted on an emotional level.

“Need some help?” Izuku asked shyly as he approached Shinzo, who was now sitting up.

“Thanks…” Shinzo said quietly as Izuku helped him get back up. His voice sounded calm, but Izuku could tell that he was upset. Not that Izuku could blame Shinzo, as the Malamar had just lost against someone he rightly saw as unfairly benefitting from societal bias. Izuku _knew_ he’d be angry too, in no small part because up until almost a year ago, he had been in a similar position.

 _“OH YEAH! Not gonna lie, that was kind of a boring match, kids, but both of you fought bravely!”_ cried Present Mic _“Let’s show them some love, everyone!”_

Izuku and Shinzo faced each other at the center of the arena and bowed to each other as the crowd cheered. Even though he’d won, Izuku didn’t feel all that great about his victory. Shinzo’s words kept replaying in his head.

“Hey, um…” Izuku said timidly “why do you want to become a hero?”

Shinzo looked away and sighed. “You can’t help the things your heart longs for.” He said before turning around and walking away.

Saddened, Izuku watched Shinzo go. Izuku wished he could tell Shinzo that he knew exactly what it felt like to be looked down on and not be taken seriously, but of course the Malamar wouldn’t believe him unless he revealed All Might’s secret, and without that context any encouragement that Izuku _could_ give would just come off as an empty platitude.

Fortunately, Shinzo ended up receiving encouragement anyway both from his General Studies classmates and from several of the heroes watching from the stands; there were lots of comments pointing out that Shinzo’s Quirk would be amazing for apprehending criminals while keeping injuries and casualties at a minimum. Izuku couldn’t help but smile at this, and although he couldn’t see Shinzo’s expression, since his back was turned on him, the Eevee got the feeling the Malamar was smiling too.

“Depending on the results they might transfer some Pokémon into the Hero Course.” Shinzo said at last “So even if things didn’t work out for me this time, I’m not giving up: I’ll become a better hero than you and your classmates.”

Izuku smiled and nodded “Right!”

Instantly, his mind went blank and foggy. _He got me again!_ Izuku realized. _But why? The match is over!_

Shinzo chuckled good-naturedly “Most other Pokémon are afraid to speak to me… Hey, Midoriya, if you don’t keep your guard up, someone’s gonna defeat you, so be careful. You better not lose and make me look bad.” Then he broke the hypnotic spell.

“I won’t!” Izuku answered, which caused him to get hypnotized a _third time_. Shinzo stifled a laugh.

* * *

After that, Izuku headed for the nurse’s office so Recovery Girl could heal his broken paw yet again. All Might was also there with them.

“Hey, where’s the sign that kept count of how many days I could go without breaking my bones?” Izuku asked while Recovery Girl applied his bandages.

“Oh, I took it down temporarily.” The elderly Chansey answered “I knew that bone-breaking injuries would be an inevitability for you during the Sports Festival, so I won’t be counting any fractures sustained here to your ‘score’.”

Izuku sighed “I’m sorry All Might… I couldn’t smile through the match with Shinzo like you would…”

“It’s okay, kiddo, I don’t blame you.” All Might said sympathetically “The things he was saying to you must have hit too close to home.”

“Yeah…” said Izuku “but I still couldn’t go easy on him: I gotta aim for the top, just like you said!”

“Aw, you poor little darling.” Recovery Girl said sweetly before angrily turning to All Might and smacking him in the uninjured side of his ribs with her cane.

“Have you been putting too much pressure on him again?!” she said.

“OW! It was necessary, and that hurt!” All Might protested as he rubbed the area where he’d been hit.

Recovery Girl gave the Jolteon a fulminating glare. “All Might, what could possibly be so necessary about putting your student under so much pressure that he’s constantly maiming himself?!”

“You’re right, I’m sorry…” All Might held up his paws in surrender. “I was only trying to help.”

“Oh, All Might, speaking of help,” said Izuku “I saw something back there when Shinzo hypnotized me.”

All Might stared at him with intrigue. “What do you mean?”

“When I was hypnotized, I lost total control of my body, and my head felt like it was full of fog.” Izuku explained “But then, I… I saw the silhouettes of eight Pokémon, and when that happened it completely drove the fog away, and it was for that split second that I was finally able to activate Extreme Evoboost and break out of Shinzo’s hold. Another thing is that the silhouettes in my vision were all Eeveelutions, and the Jolteon silhouette looked just like you All Might! So, it made me think… maybe all the Pokémon that have used Extreme Evoboost were there helping me out like spirit guides?”

Izuku realized that All Might had visibly paled.

“Hold on, so am I ghost?! But then why am I still in the mortal plane?!?!”

“Wha- I thought you’d have answers!” cried Izuku.

“Well, actually…” All Might took a moment to compose himself “I do remember experiencing something like that when I was younger.”

Izuku perked up “You did?”

All Might nodded “Yeah. It’s a sign that you’re getting closer to making Extreme Evoboost your own.”

“Okay, but what was is, exactly?” asked Izuku.

“I think it’s like a trace of a user’s spirit that’s left behind in Extreme Evoboost when it’s passed on.” Said All Might “But don’t worry, I’m sure those visions are harmless. And I don’t think they’re what got rid of the brainwashing, but rather it was your own indomitable willpower.”

Izuku stared at All Might for a few minutes before speaking up

“But that answer is so unsatisfying!” the Eevee protested.

“Well, this _is_ a shonen series, young Midoriya.” All Might shrugged “Nonsensical Deus Ex-Machinas fueled by pure determination are kind of a staple in those, so we were bound to get one of our own eventually. Anyway, shouldn’t you be more worried about figuring out who you’ll be fighting next?”

Izuku’s heart skipped a beat “Oh, right! Thank you both very much!” he said as quickly ran out the door. It was Todoroki vs Sero next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, quick heads-up, aside from Jolteon, the Eeveelutions in Midoriya's vision are listed in National Pokedex order rather than One for All users order, so just because Vaporeon is named first it doesn't mean that that's what the First User's species was, for example. Same goes for the others.


	11. Do Your Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of round 1

Shoto watched the fight between Midoriya and Shinzo right up until the two had left the arena, then he headed for the hallway since his fight was up next. Shoto had admittedly become very nervous when Shinzo successfully managed to hypnotize Midoriya at the start of the match and nearly made him walk out of bounds. But of course, Midoriya managed to turn the tables at the last possible minute and win.

On his way to the arena, Shoto bumped into the last Pokémon he wanted to see.

“What do _you_ want?” the Vulpix said curtly to the Emboar leaning against the wall.

“You’re acting disgracefully, Shoto.” Said Endeavor “If you’d simply used Inferno Overdrive, you would have won the first two rounds by a landslide. I get that you’re going through an edgy rebellious teen phase, but it’s gone on for long enough! You have a duty to surpass that imbecile All Might.”

Shoto wordlessly walked past his father, not wanting to dignify him with a reply or even turn around to look at him.

 _It’s your own fault I’m going through a “phase” to begin with!_ He thought.

“Shoto, do you even understand what I’m saying?” Endeavor continued, obviously not caring about his son giving him the silent treatment “You’re not like your siblings. You’re my greatest masterpiece!”

Finally, Shoto had enough, so he turned around and snaped at Endeavor. “Is that all that you have to say to me, you bastard?! I’m winning this whole thing using only mom’s Quirk. You won’t get the pleasure of seeing me use yours!”

“Even if that works for you in this tournament, you’ll soon find the limits of that power.” Endeavor said with a dismissive grunt.

Shoto was seething with too much rage to answer and simply continued his trek towards the arena where he was set to battle Sero.

By the time the battle got started, though, Shoto was still so incensed by the conversation he’d had with his father that he way overdid it and steamrolled the poor Leavanny by encasing him in a massive glacier roughly half the size of the stadium. The battle was over in under a minute, and it had been so lopsided that instead of cheering on Shoto for his victory, the crowd opted to cheer for Sero instead, telling him not to worry about his loss and that he’d tried his best.

“Sorry…” said Shoto as he began melting Sero out of his icy prison “It was a bit much.”

“A _bit_?!” Sero protested between shivers.

“I was just angry…” Shoto murmured.

* * *

Izuku made it to the stands just in time to watch the fight between Todoroki and Sero, and it proved to be a total curbstomp: Sero tried to get an early advantage by trying to force Todoroki out of the ring with String Shot, but that quickly backfired on him when Todoroki went full overkill with Subzero Slammer, which honestly was pretty dang unnecessary since Izuku was sure the Vulpix could have still won fairly easily without the need to turn half the stadium into a popsicle. But what really caught Izuku’s attention in the fight was that when Todoroki was in the process of melting Sero out, he just looked… sad. Izuku wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed, but even if they did, it’s not like they’d know why. He was the only one who knew.

The ice from Todoroki’s attack took a long time to clean up, so by the time that was done everyone was itching for the next match. Kaminari vs Shiozaki was almost as short as Todoroki vs Sero, with Ibara using her Frenzy Plant to effortlessly block Kaminari’s Discharge and then restraining the Pikachu while he was in helpless “short-circuit brain” mode. Thankfully, unlike Todoroki, Shiozaki had done minimal damage to the battlefield at best, so there wasn’t such a huge time gap for the next match this time around.

Next up was Iida vs Hatsume, which turned out more like the world’s most insane sales pitch than an actual battle, as Hatsume had tricked Iida into wearing one of her inventions so she could show it off. Once the Mareanie felt satisfied with her advertising after several minutes of Iida being flailed around, she willingly stepped out of bounds and handed him the win.

The crazy sales pitch fight was followed by Ashido vs Aoyama, which was once again a very quick and one-sided match, as Ashido nimbly dodged all of Aoyama’s Signal Beams until the latter was exhausted from the pain of overusing his Quirk. Ashido then took the opportunity to melt Aoyama’s support equipment with Acid Spray and knocked him out with a single slam of her powerful tail. The enjoyment of the fight was somewhat ruined by Mineta complaining about how “lucky” Aoyama was to get “slimed” by Ashido, but at least Jiro silenced him by jabbing him with her earphone jacks.

Then came Yaoyorozu vs Tokoyami, which like every other fight before it sans Iida vs Hatsume, was over rather quickly: Tokoyami attacked Yaoyorozu with repeated strikes from Night Shade, and the only thing the Delibird had time to do was create a shield from her tail feathers to defend herself, not even getting a chance to counter before she’d been pushed over the boundary line and been eliminated.

Right after that was Kirishima vs Tetsutestu, and for once here was battle where both fighters were evenly matched, though it did help that both Pokémon’s Quirks had extremely similar effects to the point that they were almost carbon copies of each other. The Midnight Lycanroc and Perrserker furiously struck each other repeatedly, with both seeming to deal and take equal damage.

Izuku watched all the fights with awe, making sure to absorb everything he saw and taking notes on his Hero Dex. It was just so exciting to see everyone’s Quirks in action. Izuku had been so focused on his analyses that he didn’t realize that he’d been muttering out loud until Uraraka pointed it out.

As the match between Kirishima and Testutestu went on, Izuku suddenly realized that Uraraka was no longer in her seat. It was pretty obvious that the current fight would go on for quite a while, so Izuku decided to go and search for his Espurr friend and, knowing that her fight against none other than Kacchan himself was up next, headed for the waiting room, figuring that she’d be there preparing. Sure enough, Uraraka was there, accompanied by Iida.

“Oh, hey Deku!” Uraraka greeted when she saw the Eevee come through the door “Why aren’t you out there watching the matches?”

“Most of them have already ended.” Said Izuku “Kirishima is fighting Tetsutestu right now.”

Uraraka tensed up “That means I’m next…”

“Um, I’m sure it’ll be fine!” said Iida “There’s no way Bakugo would go all out against a girl, right?”

Izuku shook his head “Oh no, he definitely would go all out, trust me. Holding back is just not something that Kacchan does, ever.”

Uraraka visibly stifled a whimper, and Izuku couldn’t blame her; although the fact that everyone in the tournament was fighting for the top spot meant that any opponent would have gone all out against her anyway, the fact that Kacchan was tied with Todoroki for strongest Quirk made him going all out a far more worrying opponent to go against. Thankfully, Izuku had a solution…

“Uraraka, you’ve helped me out so much. It’s my turn to help you.” Izuku showed the Espurr his Hero Dex journal “Maybe I can repay you a little with this: I’ve thought up of a plan that could help you defeat Kacchan. It’s not much, but I did my best!”

“Hey, that’s great!” Iida said cheerfully as he clapped his paws together “You’ve got nothing to worry about now!”

Uraraka gave Izuku a sad smile “Thank you so much for doing that, Deku. Once again you show me how much of a wonderful Pokémon you are… but I’ll be declining your help. Sorry.”

Izuku was taken aback. “What?”

“During the cavalry battle, I told you it was good to team up with friends, but now that I think about it, I’ve been trying to rely on you to get by.” Uraraka explained “That’s why when Iida said that he’d do his best to defeat you, I felt pretty embarrassed with myself. Everyone’s facing their future and giving their best, that means we’re all rivals, even you and me, Deku. So…” Uraraka gave Izuku a determined smile “I guess I’ll see you in the finals!”

Izuku thought this for a bit but ultimately nodded, realizing it would be unfair to not trust in his friend's skill.

“Do your best!”

* * *

The fight between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu ultimately ended in a draw when both Pokémon knocked each other out. Since obviously they couldn’t both advance to the next round, it was determined that the winner would be decided via an arm-wrestling contest once both had recovered from their injuries. In the meantime, the crowd would watch the final match.

Ochaco and Bakugo entered the field from opposite ends as Present Mic announced them.

Ochaco took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Being faced with Bakugo on her own, Ochaco only now noticed how truly intimidating he was: not only was the Typhlosion over a meter larger than her, but he had his teeth bared and his face contorted into a scowl. Still, Ochaco had vowed to do her best. To get noticed so that one day she’d lift her parents out of poverty. And it all started here.

“You’re the one who screws around with gravity, right Funko Pop?” asked Bakugo.

“‘Funko Pop’?!” cried Ochaco, taken aback “Where’s that come from?”

“Well, have you seen how huge your head is in proportion to the rest of your body? Between that and your perfectly round eyes, you’re basically a Funko Pop.” Bakugo jeered. “In any case, if you wanna quit you better do it now, because I’m not going to hold back.”

“Okay, first off, big heads on small bodies are a common trait among unevolved Pokémon so it’s really jerkish of you to make fun of that.” Said an indignant Ochaco “Secondly, I am not quitting here. Not when I’ve made it this far!”

 _“Let the eight match begin!”_ announced Present Mic.

Ochaco immediately broke into a full sprint towards Bakugo; she knew the only way to beat him was if she managed to float him out of the ring with Psychic. Problem is, the Espurr needed to touch Bakugo to even do this, meaning she had to get in close, which was a big problem due to her opponent’s powerful Quirk.

Remembering Deku’s fight against Bakugo in the Combat Training exercise, Ochaco figured Bakugo would counterattack rather than dodge. She was right, but unfortunately Lava Plume was so strong that even as Ochaco tried to dodge it, she still got hit and blown backwards by the blast.

“Stupid! Saw it coming and I still couldn’t get out of the way…” Ochaco muttered to herself.

Ochaco tried again, this time trying to use the smoke from Lava Plume’s blast to conceal her movements, but unfortunately Bakugo was too fast and blasted her away once more.

Ochaco winced as she tumbled to the ground but quickly got back up. _I can do this! I only need to touch him once to win! I just need the right opening…_

Once again, Ochaco rushed at her opponent and once again she was blasted away. And then again. And a gain. And again. This went on for quite a while, but Ochaco refused to stay down. As long as she could stand, she could keep going.

The fight must have been brutal to watch, though, because at one point the crowd started booing Bakugo and accusing him of sadistically drawing out the fight out of some sick pleasure of torturing a Pokémon much smaller than himself. Aizawa-sensei, who was Present Mic’s commentating partner, quickly put a stop to that, something for which Ochaco was grateful for.

 _I may be small, but I’m not weak!_ Ochaco thought. _I’ll win just like Deku!_

If anything, Ochaco being so small compared to her adversary worked to her advantage, as the huge difference in size meant that Bakugo constantly had to aim his Lava Plume close to the ground. This ended up lifting a ton of debris, which Ochaco kept in the air via Psychic, thus giving her plenty of ammo to work with, and once she had enough…

“RELEASE!” Ochaco put her paws together and let the debris fall on Bakugo like a meteor shower. She finally had her chance: her Typhlosion opponent would have no choice but to focus on destroying the debris, meaning he’d be wide open. She could finally force him out! Ochaco ran at her opponent, ready to use Psychic on him…

 _*BOOM*_ With a single, gigantic blast of Lava Plume, Bakugo pulverized the falling debris.

Ochaco was instantly blown back by the shockwave of a massive explosion. The Espurr tumbled across the field before coming to a stop. She hadn’t been knocked out of bounds, but with her strategy being ruined in a single shot, what was she to do now?

“I figured you’d have some sort of plan.” Said Bakugo as he massaged his forearms “You _are_ friends with that damn nerd after all.”

Ochaco struggled to stand up. _If Deku was fighting in my place, he wouldn’t give up!_ The Espurr ran at her opponent, who grinned wildly and rushed at her as well.

Then, Ochaco’s vision blurred, her knees buckled, and she collapsed back down. _No… come on… get up… I wanna keep going… I’ll become a hero! I’ll help… mom and dad…_

Ochaco tried to get up again, but her body was too injured to move. She’d been forced past her limit. Then, her vision went black.

* * *

Seeing Uraraka fight was simultaneously terrifying and amazing. It was terrifying because just as Izuku predicted, Kacchan had shown absolutely no mercy, and seeing him going all out with Lava Plume was never a pretty sight; as someone who had frequently been on the receiving end of Kacchan’s explosive assaults in the past, Izuku knew first-paw just how much pain Uraraka had gone through. It was amazing because Uraraka had fought _so. Well_. Heck, she’d even come up with a plan to defeat Kacchan completely independent of Izuku’s, and it had _nearly_ worked.

Unfortunately, nearly was just not good enough. Especially not when dealing with Kacchan.

With all the round 1 matches of the tournament over (not counting the draw-breaker arm-wrestling contest between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu), Izuku set out to the waiting room so he could prepare for his upcoming fight against Todoroki. However, Izuku’s spirits were low; he couldn’t stop thinking about how devastated his Espurr friend must feel about her loss, especially after she’d come so close to winning.

The Eevee held back tears as he thought about Uraraka’s promise to face him in the final round. A promise that now would never come.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Kacchan yelled as he nearly bumped into Izuku.

“AH! H-hey K-kacchan!” Izuku yelped. “I-I’m up next, so I was j-just gonna hand out in the waiting room! Alsocongratsonwinningyourmatchbye!”

But before Izuku could get away, Kacchan grabbed him by the tail and lifted him up to eye level.

“That meteor shower thing back there was YOUR idea, wasn’t it?!” the Typhlosion snarled “That stupid desperate plan of hers is something that your annoying nerd brain would come up with!”

Despite currently being upside-down, Izuku gave Kacchan a defiant stare “No. You’re wrong. That plan is something that Uraraka came up with all by herself. I had nothing to do with it nor did I even know about it, so if that battle was harder than you thought it would be, then it’s because of _Uraraka’s_ strategy. Not mine.”

Kacchan was so shocked that he did a double take and then set Izuku back on the ground. Without another word, the Typhlosion left.

By the time Izuku entered the waiting room, Uraraka was already there, awake and with her injuries treated.

“Well, I lost! Too bad!” Uraraka said as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “I guess I got a little too carried away at the end. I really thought I had it in the bag!”

“Uraraka! Are… are you alright?” Izuku was surprised to see her act so chipper and blasé.

“Yep!” Uraraka said cheerfully as she pointed to a band-aid on the side of her face “Recovery Girl patched me up, but she was careful not to drain my stamina too much, so I still got a few scrapes.”

Then Uraraka’s smile then turned into a frustrated frown and began shaking her fist “I didn’t realize how powerful Bakugo was! He wiped the ring with me! Now I realize how much more training I have to do!”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked a concerned Izuku.

“Oh yeah! Totally!” Uraraka was back to being chipper. “I’m better than I expected! Even if you lose, you can always keep looking forward to what’s next, Deku. This just means I have to work harder now.”

“That’s true-” said Izuku.

Suddenly, he was interrupted by present Mic enthusiastically narrating the arm-wrestling contest between Tetsutetsu and Kirishima, which the latter ended up winning.

_“OH YEAH! Now that we’ve finally got our full roster for the next round it’s time to get the party started, ya dig?!”_

Welp. This was it. Time to face up against Todoroki.

“Well, I’ll see you later, Uraraka. It’s time for my match.” said Izuku

“Oh, I’m sorry Deku!” cried Uraraka “Because I was here, you weren’t able to prepare!”

Izuku gave his friend a smile “Nah, this was perfect.”

Uraraka smiled back “I’ll be watching, then. Good luck!”

“Thanks!” said Izuku. And with that, he headed out the door and into the hallway leading the arena.

Although Uraraka’s chipper act had been quite a good one, Izuku could still tell that she’d been faking it. That in truth, she was incredibly upset with herself, yet despite this, Uraraka was still cheering Izuku on, even though he’d been unable to help her…

Izuku’s eyes felt heavy with tears and he hastily rubbed them away. He wouldn’t cry. Not when his friend had shown such courage.

Suddenly, out of a corner walked a huge porcine Pokémon who very nearly stomped Izuku flat.

“ENDEAVOR?!” cried Izuku as he jumped out of the Emboar’s way.

“Ah, there you are, little Eevee.” Said Endeavor “Your name’s Izuku Midoriya, right? I’ve been looking for you.”

“O-oh, you have?” intimidated by the #2 hero’s imposing figure, Izuku took a couple steps back.

“I watched your fight against that brainwashing Malamar.” Said Endeavor as he pointed a finger at Izuku “Your power is pretty impressive. To create so much wind pressure just by stamping a paw… especially taking your small size into account. In fact, your power reminds me a lot of another Quirk…” Endeavor narrowed his eyes “you seem to have much in common with All Might.”

Okay, the comparisons to All Might were getting a little _too_ unnervingly numerous for one day, especially since the Pokémon currently making them was quite possibly one of the last who should find out about the Symbol of Peace’s secret.

“I…” Izuku averted his gaze “I guess I never saw it that way… sorry, but I should get going.”

Izuku walked around Endeavor and once again tried to head for the arena.

“It’s my Shoto’s duty to surpass All Might as the #1 hero.” Endeavor called after Izuku, which made the Eevee halt. “His match against you should be a good testing ground for how much training he has left, so I want you to hit him hard. Don’t disgrace yourself or him by holding back.”

Izuku felt his stomach turn. The way Endeavor was talking about Todoroki, as though the Vulpix was some kind of drone whose sole purpose was to succeed where his father had failed… it was sickening. A tiny irrational part of Izuku wanted to turn around and attack Endeavor for his awful treatment of his son, but the much bigger and saner part of him kept that feeling in check: as much as Izuku wanted to put Endeavor in his place, that wouldn’t really solve Todoroki’s problems. Furthermore, jerk or no, Endeavor was still the #2 hero, a veteran with decades of fighting experience under his belt: if Izuku tried to stand up against him now, the Emboar would wipe the floor with him effortlessly.

“That’s all I wanted to say.” Endeavor interrupted Izuku’s thoughts “I apologize for bothering you.”

Izuku gritted his teeth “Endeavor, you need to stop projecting. I am not All Might.”

“What? What are you talking about-”

“And the same goes for Todoroki!” Izuku turned his head to glare at Endeavor “He may be your son, but he _isn’t_ you!”

The two Pokémon stared at each other for several moments before Izuku broke eye contact so he could finally head on to his upcoming fight. Whether Izuku’s words had knocked at least some sense on Endeavor was impossible to tell, as the nominal hero had maintained his infamous scowl throughout.

Whatever. Izuku didn’t have time to focus on Endeavor. Right now, it was Todoroki who was on his mind: Izuku had made a vow to help him, and already he was getting an idea…


	12. Your Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gee, Todoroki! How come your mom lets you have two Z-Moves?

Izuku and Todoroki entered the arena from opposite sides, their expressions equally focused and determined. Upon entering the ring, the two young Pokémon assumed battle stances.

 _“It’s the first match of the second round!”_ Present Mic announced _“These two heroes-in-training have been front-runners at the Sports Festival: Izuku Midoriya versus Shoto Todoroki! But which of these rivals will advance to the next round? Let’s find out now and BEGIN!”_

Todoroki attacked first with a huge barrage of ice, just as Izuku knew he would. The Eevee promptly shattered the ice with an Extreme Evoboosted paw strike. The impact was so massive that it sent gusts of frozen wind everywhere that even reached the crowds in the stands.

Although Izuku had tried to minimize damage to himself as much as possible, he had still broken his toes in the process of countering Todoroki’s. Thankfully, this time the damage was not as severe as past times Izuku had used his Quirk, so he could use it a few more times before his right paw was rendered completely useless.

Todoroki fired off another Zubzero Slammer, and once again, Izuku countered it. Izuku noticed that Todoroki had created a Vulpix-sized ice wall behind him, no doubt to prevent being blown out of bounds by Extreme Evoboost smashes.

 _I need to find an opening…_ Izuku thought as he tried to ignore the aching pain in his paw. _Come on… find a weak spot!_

Todoroki sent out another Subzero Slammer. Izuku countered it just like the previous two times.

“You seem to be aiming for an endurance match.” Todoroki noted “But I’ll end this quickly!”

Another barrage of ice, another counter. Izuku thought this song and dance was getting a bit old. Not to mention painful. However, it was at this point that Todoroki finally changed tactics and rushed at Izuku, who narrowly managed to move out of the way. But Todoroki had anticipated that, and promptly used Subzero Slammer again, this time managing to trap Izuku by freezing one of his hind legs.

Not wanting to give Todoroki any sort of opening, Izuku used Extreme Evoboost again to free himself. However, this time he overdid it, finally rendering his right foreleg completely useless.

Todoroki, meanwhile, had been blown away by the counter, but his trusty ice wall had prevented him from going out of bounds.

Izuku winced, his broken foreleg had suffered so many blows it barely looked like a limb anymore, and Izuku had to somehow continue the fight on just three legs against an opponent that had proven himself to be incredibly fast on top of being powerful.

“What’s the matter?” Todoroki asked as he picked himself up “Are you really that worn out from defending against my attacks?”

Izuku stared at Todoroki and gasped when he noticed something strange: his body was covered in patches of frost, and he was shaking.

 _He’s starting to reach his limit!_ Izuku realized. _In a way, he’s hurting himself too…_

“I’m sorry about this,” said Todoroki “but thanks for drawing out the fight. I’ve managed to keep going this long without using Inferno Overdrive. I know Endeavor is watching. He must be so furious right now. And with your foreleg in that state, you can no longer fight, so let’s end this!”

Once again, a powerful Subzero Slammer was headed Izuku’s way.

“I’m not done yet!” cried Izuku, who reared up and countered with his _left_ foreleg. Just like he’d done with his right before, the foreleg could be used with Extreme Evoboost a few more times. That said, now Izuku was going to have to move around only on his hind legs, usually a difficult task for a quadruped.

Todoroki was so shocked by the fact that Izuku had actually countered his attack that he almost didn’t stop himself in time to avoid being knocked out of bounds by the blast from Extreme Evoboost.

“Todoroki, you’re trembling.” Said Izuku, himself shaking both from the pain in his shattered limbs and the effort of keeping his balance “As powerful as your Quirk is, it still has limitations just like any other: your body can only take so much cold in one go! Usually you’d make up for the drop in temperature with your Fire-type half, right? But you’re refusing to do that…”

Todoroki glared at him “What are you trying to do, Midoriya? You want me to use Inferno Overdrive?! What, did Endeavor bribe you or something?!”

Despite the pain, Izuku managed to scoff at this. “Listen, Todoroki, everyone fighting in this tournament is giving it their all, trying their best to reach for the top. Yet you think you can win using only half your strength?! Just look at me: throughout this entire fight you haven’t managed to land a single hit on me yet! SO, COME AT ME WITH ALL YOU’VE GOT!”

Furious, Todoroki ran directly at Midoriya, who noticed that he was moving much more slowly than before. No doubt because he was freezing. This gave Izuku ample time to counter.

 _Okay, this is it…_ Izuku fired up Extreme Evoboost in his left paw, which still had several smashes left. _Control it… just control it… you’re using it against another Pokémon this time!_

Izuku landed a hit, sending Todoroki flying back. The Eevee screamed: he’d managed to keep the power in check, but it had _hurt_ to use an injured limb…

After recovering, Todoroki tried for another long-ranged ice attack, but now even that was moving slowly, to the point that Izuku could move out of the way easily.

Todoroki got in close again to fire off Subzero Slammers at a range that would be harder to dodge, but Izuku managed to avoid them regardless.

“Why are you putting yourself through this?!” cried Todoroki after Izuku countered his last barrage.

“Because I want to become a hero!” cried Izuku as he struck the Vulpix with a headbutt “And for that I have to give it my all! Just like you should be!”

Todoroki seemed taken aback, and for a moment, he just stared at his opponent.

“Look, I know there’s no way I can even imagine what you’ve gone through…” said Izuku “but you need to stop screwing around! It’s okay to want to reject your father, but you have no right to become number one if you’re not even going to use your full power!”

“Shut… up…!” Todoroki said, trembling. The frost in his body growing ever larger. At this, Izuku lost his patience and attacked Todoroki with another Extreme Evoboosted swipe of his left paw. The Vulpix was blown a couple meters and landed back-first on the ground. Todoroki stood back up.

“IT’S _YOURS_!” Izuku yelled at the top of his lungs “YOUR QUIRK, NOT HIS!”

Finally, that did the trick. Todoroki’s eyes widened as though recalling something, and then the left side of his body shot ablaze, instantly melting the frost that had impeded his movement.

“This whole time, you’ve been trying to help me even though I’m your opponent.” Todoroki realized, barely able to contain his laughter “You insane fluffy fool! Who’s screwing around now?!”

Izuku smiled despite himself. He couldn’t help it: watching Todoroki finally, _truly_ let loose and go all out was a sight to behold.

“Why are you smiling, you idiot?” asked Todoroki “With those injuries your situation is hopeless! You absolute madmon… don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Todoroki got into a fighting stance and readied both Subzero Slammer and Inferno Overdrive. Izuku, meanwhile readied one final Extreme Evoboost. The two Pokémon attacked each other with everything they had and collided in a massive explosion so bright, Izuku had to close his eyes shut.

The young Eevee felt the massive force blowing him backwards until he hit a wall. Izuku had just enough time to realized he was out of bounds before he lost consciousness.

* * *

“There. Izuku Midoriya is out of bounds! Todoroki will advance to the third round!” said Midnight, her voice tremoring slightly from the scare she’d just gotten.

Shoto could barely hear the crowd’s cheers; his eyes were focused solely on his defeated rival, who had slumped against the stadium wall before collapsing. What on Earth… had Midoriya seriously thrown the match just so his opponent could have an epiphany? The Eevee’s words kept echoing in Shoto’s mind.

_Your Quirk. Not his._

Just a single, simple statement. It was so obvious, yet Shoto had needed someone to spell it out for him.

Throughout the fight, Shoto had relived memories of his early childhood; many painful ones, yes, most prominently his mother being taken to a mental hospital after her mental breakdown. But somehow, Midoriya’s words brought back ones Shoto thought he’d forgotten, back when mom was still sane, still trying to keep things positive. She’d give him encouragement, hug him, try to defend him from Endeavor’s harsh training.

As Midoriya was carted away in a stretcher to the Nurse’s Office (how many times had _that_ happened, by the way? Midoriya kind of had a bad habit of hospitalizing himself, now that Shoto thought about it), Shoto made a mental note to thank him properly as soon as he got well.

Then, as soon as Shoto left the arena, he was greeted by Endeavor, who instead of his usual disdainful scowl now sported a smug grin in his face.

“What’s the matter?” said Endeavor, crossing his arms “Not gonna tell me to get lost?”

Frankly, Shoto was too tired from the fight to yell at his father right now…

“You need to learn to control Inferno Overdrive,” Endeavor continued “it’s dangerous to unleash that much power in one go. That said, I’m glad that you’re finally starting to see reason, so now that you’ve abandoned your childish rebellion, we can get back to what’s important.” Endeavor extended a hand to Shoto “Once you graduate, you’ll work by my side! And I’ll lead you down the path of the mighty, Shoto!”

Shoto gave Endeavor the most aloof stare he could muster in his current state “What makes you think that I’ve abandoned anything? The only reason I could use my fire back there is because, for a moment, I completely forgot about you.”

Endeavor at least had the decency to look shocked and didn’t say anything else as Shoto walked past him.

* * *

“He’s gone too far this time…” Recovery Girl sighed as she carefully examined her patient. Young Midoriya was conscious now, thankfully, but he was trembling and wincing constantly from the pain of his injuries.

“The damage to his right foreleg is especially great; I’m afraid it won’t be the same as before.”

Toshinori shot Recovery Girl an alarmed look. “Don’t tell me you’re going to have to amputate it!”

“What? No! Of course not! Geez, what’s with the sudden fatalism?!” said the appalled Chansey “I’ll have to perform surgery to remove the bone fragments before I can use my Quirk on him, as otherwise they might get stuck in his joints, and the process is likely to leave him with a crooked paw.”

Toshinori sighed and stared sadly at his pupil. Fact is, even if young Midoriya had won the match against young Todoroki, the injuries he had sustained likely wouldn’t have allowed him to progress further anyway. Truth is, Toshinori didn’t know whether to feel horrified or proud of his protégé: on the one paw, he really had gone way too far with the self-injuries this time; but on the other paw, he had helped young Todoroki, who himself had been damaging his own body by nearly letting it succumb to frostbite out of a strange aversion to using his Fire-type Quirk. That level of selflessness was the whole reason Toshinori had chosen young Midoriya as his successor in the first place, but a good hero needs to take care of themselves, and it was becoming increasingly evident that young Midoriya’s low self-esteem meant that the Eevee had very little regard for his own wellbeing.

Toshinori’s thoughts were interrupted by Recovery Girl sighing sadly

“You lit a fire under this child and pushed him too hard.” She said, “Just look at what he’s done to make you proud. I don’t like it one bit. Please don’t praise him for what he’s done, All Might. This kid really shouldn’t be maiming himself for you.”

Well aware that Recovery Girl was completely right, Toshinori simply nodded. _What am I doing wrong?_ He thought desperately. _I need to become a better teacher..._

“MIDORIYA!” four voices screamed in unison, startling Toshinori and making him cough up some blood.

Suddenly, Iida, Uraraka, Asui, and Mineta came rushing into the room.

“Is he okay?” asked Uraraka as she approached Midoriya’s bed. Then she noticed Toshinori next to her “Oh, sorry, sir. I didn’t see you. Are you Deku’s father?”

Toshinori nearly coughed up blood, and next to him Midoriya yelped a squeak of surprise. His _father_?! Where did young Uraraka get- then Toshinori suddenly remembered that he wasn’t in his hero form, so of course his students wouldn’t recognize him.

“N-nice to meet you.” Toshinori managed to say, “And no, I’m not Midoriya’s father, I’m just a friend.”

“Oh, well, it’s nice to meet another friend of Deku’s!” Uraraka smiled, ever the polite one.

“I know you’re all worried about your friend, but he’s in no state for visitors.” Recovery Girl scolded them.

“Hey guys…” young Midoriya said weakly. “Shouldn’t you be watching the matches?”

“There are no matches going on right now.” Said Iida “The fight between you and Todoroki left the stage in shambles, and it’ll take some time to repair it.”

“Midoriya, that match was the scariest thing I have ever seen.” Said Mineta as he bit his fingernails “With the way you hurt yourself back there, no pro is gonna want to give you an internship!”

“Why do you gotta rub salt in the wound, Mineta?” said Asui as she smacked him with her tongue. “We already have plenty of jerk to go around with Bakugo in our class, so stop trying to out-compete him in that category.”

“Hey, I’m just calling it like it is!” the Pansage shouted in response.

“All right, that does it, you kids are making way too much noise!” said Recovery Girl as she shooed young Midoriya’s visitors out of the room. “I do appreciate that you’re concerned about your friend, but what he needs right now is surgery.”

“WAIT, _SURGERY_?!” the four kids cried in unison as the elderly Chansey pushed them out the door.

“Don’t worry, just leave me to it!” said Recovery Girl “And the sooner I’m done with it, the sooner you can see your friend in good health again.”

Reluctantly, young Midoriya’s visitors left, and Toshinori watched them go. He chuckled silently to himself, happy that his pupil had such good friends.

“I’m sorry.”

Toshinori turned his head towards young Midoriya. The devastated expression on the Eevee’s face took him aback.

“I-I couldn’t do what you asked of me…” young Midoriya said weakly, his voice sounding like he was about to tear up “If-if only I’d kept my muzzle shut… not said anything… I might have been able to beat Todoroki… but I…” young Midoriya stifled a sob as he trailed off.

“Hey, hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Toshinori tried to comfort his student “You got Todoroki to realize something very important about himself.”

“I guess so…” young Midoriya sighed “It’s just… I should have stayed focused… but instead I got frustrated… I couldn’t see the bigger picture… or what it would take to win… I’m sorry…”

Toshinori gave his pupil a little smile.

“It’s true that the fight didn’t go the way we would have liked it to,” he said, trying to reassure the little Eevee “and realizing where you went wrong won’t change that. But listen, meddling where you technically don’t have to is the essence of being a hero.”

Young Midoriya said nothing, but tears began streaming down his face.

* * *

Maybe it was just a side-effect of the sedatives, but Izuku felt that the surgery had gone by rather quickly. The anesthesia had worn off just in time for Recovery Girl to use Heal Pulse on him. Both of Izuku’s forelegs were bandaged, since even with the surgery it hadn’t been safe for Recovery Girl’s Quirk to heal the Eevee’s injuries in one go, and Izuku’s right foreleg was on a sling due to it having received the worst damage.

“There,” she said once her job was done “I’ve healed you enough that you can move around. Just try not to put so much strain on your forelegs.”

“Thanks.” Said Izuku as he stared forlornly at his right paw, which just as Recovery Girl had warned, was now crooked.

“That’s what you get for overusing your Quirk in such a reckless manner.” Said Recovery Girl “Consider the state of your paw as a warning from now on.”

“Wow, that was fast.” All Might said, relieved “Thank goodness you’re alright now, kiddo.”

“By the way, I have something important to tell you both.” Recovery Girl said sternly “From now on, I will not be using my Quirk to heal injuries like these anymore. Hurt yourself like this again, Midoriya, and you’ll have to deal with recovering the old-fashioned slow way.”

Izuku and All Might both gave her shocked looks.

“I’m sorry, boys, but if not having access to a convenient quick fix is what it takes for you to be more cautious from now on, so be it.” Recovery Girl sighed “You two have to find a workaround for that power. There has to be way to use that Quirk that isn’t this needlessly self-destructive.”

And with that, the elderly Chansey discharged Izuku and he and All Might left her office and began to head to the stadium’s stands.

Izuku felt wretched, and not just because of Heal Pulse’s side-effect of leaving him exhausted; even though All Might had reassured him that he’d done the right thing by helping Todoroki, that didn’t change the fact that maybe Izuku could have stood a better chance at winning if only he’d have a better handle on Extreme Evoboost.

“A workaround for your Quirk…” Izuku heard All Might mutter thoughtfully “But how exactly…?”

Finally, Izuku decided to tell his mentor something that had been on his mind for some time but had kept to himself for fear of how the Jolteon would respond.

“Hey, All Might.”

“Hm?” the Jolteon turned to look at him.

“Remember when you told me why you came to UA in the first place?” Izuku swallowed “You said you were on the hunt for a successor to inherit Extreme Evoboost.”

“Yeah, why?” All Might tilted his head in mild confusion.

Izuku ruminated for a bit, thinking carefully about what to say next. “I put everything I had into the Sports Festival, but… there were other competitors that fought for the victory harder than I did… so… maybe-”

“You’re thinking it might be better for someone else to be my successor.” All Might finished for him.

Izuku’s heart sank. Had All Might been thinking the same thing too, then? Did he regret choosing Izuku as his successor?

“…Yes.” Izuku sighed as he looked down at the floor and lowered his tail.

“Well, it is true that this school is full of students who are great potential heroes.” Said All Might “And if I had chosen to give Extreme Evoboost to any of them, it would have given their Quirks quite the boost in power. Take Todoroki, for example; with Extreme Evoboost bolstering his own Quirks he’d probably be practically invincible.”

Izuku’s lips quivered “…Then-”

“But you know something?” All Might said before Izuku could get any word out “As a kid, I was Quirkless too.”

Izuku gasped and jerked his head up in surprise, then he turned to look at his mentor, who was smiling warmly at him.

“Wait, _you_ were Quirkless?? Seriously??!”

“It wasn’t as rare back in my generation as it is in yours,” Said All Might “but it was still fairly uncommon. However, even though I didn’t have a power, I had someone who believed I had potential: my master, who gave Extreme Evoboost to me and raised me to become a hero.”

“But then why didn’t you tell me about this before?!” asked Izuku.

“You never asked.” All Might answered simply “And that’s honestly pretty surprising, ‘cause I was fully expecting you to.”

“You… the #1 hero, the Symbol of Peace… you were once Quirkless. I can’t believe it…” Izuku said in between gasps as he continued to stare at his mentor in complete shock.

“Well, it’s true!” All Might said in a cheerful tone, then his expression turned contemplative “You know, the day we first met, I saw a little of the old me in you, and kid, time and time again, you’ve surprised me and gone beyond my expectations.”

All Might then reached out with a paw and ruffled Izuku’s head affectionately.

“One day you’re gonna do incredible things with Extreme Evoboost. I just know it.” said the Jolteon “Every day I believe more and more strongly that I made the right choice in picking you as my successor.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Izuku pushed back tears of joy.

“Thanks, All Might! I’ll do my best!” he said.

All Might chuckled. “Anyway, the Sports Festival isn’t over yet, so why don’t you go watch the rest of the matches? You probably missed out on several, but there should at least be a couple more left.”

“Oh, I hope so!” said Izuku, feeling much more cheerful due to the heavy burden that had been lifted off his chest “I’ll see you later, All Might! And thank you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Hi, this is me from the future. If you're wondering why this chapter's picture looks so different from those of later chapters it's because I've been drawing the relevant images of each respective chapter EXTREMELY out of order, so pictures that appear in some later chapters are actually older than this one. Definitely gonna have to eventually redo those, though...


	13. Victory and Defeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Festival end

The first two challenges of the Sports Festival had been absolute crap, what with Deku somehow managing to scrap a win in the Obstacle Course and then Icy-Hot snagging the ten million points in the Cavalry Battle at the last possible minute so that Katsuki couldn’t get them in turn. But now, things were finally looking up again; Katsuki was climbing up the ranks in the tournament round, plowing through the competition with ease.

…

…Well, okay, no. That wasn’t _entirely_ true. There _had_ been a few surprises: that Espurr girl that Deku constantly hung out with turned out to be a tougher opponent than Katsuki had anticipated, and although he’d never admit it out loud, the meteor shower trick she pulled had actually scared him for a bit. What was especially surprising was that Funko Pop had apparently come up with that idea by herself, when Katsuki had been sure that Deku had had a paw in it.

The Midnight Lycanroc had also managed to put up a good fight, but in the end his increased defenses got worn down by Lava Plume, ending in Katsuki’s victory and allowing him to move on to the quarterfinals.

Katsuki then fought against Edgelord Bird, and honestly, fate couldn’t have possibly granted him an easier opponent. Oh, Night Shade was powerful, that’s for sure, and the fact that it was also a fully sentient Quirk made it even more unpredictable. Unfortunately, the creature had one huge glaring weakness to light, which Katsuki’s Lava Plume just so happened to emit. It hadn’t been hard to figure it out. I mean, come on, its name was Night Shade and it was a creature of literal darkness for crying out loud! _No shit_ light was its weakness! Katsuki would even go as far as to say that the only reason the Murkrow had made it as far as he did was because he’d been lucky enough to be pitted against opponents whose powers couldn’t reliably exploit his weakness: if Dumbasschu had fought against him instead of that Servine from Class 1-B, Edgelord Bird would have been eliminated in the first round.

The fight ultimately ended with Katsuki pinning Edgelord Bird to the ground, thus forcing him to forfeit. That meant that the final round would be him versus Icy-Hot, which was perfect for Katsuki.

Icy-Hot had objectively the strongest Quirk out of the whole competition, and the only one that could be a believable match against Lava Plume. However, for some unfathomable reason, the Hybrid Vulpix considered Deku, freaking _Deku_ , a bigger threat than Katsuki. It was infuriating.

And then the match between Deku and Icy-Hot happened. Throughout the entire tournament (and indeed, his time at school in general), Icy-Hot had been relying solely on Subzero Slammer, with the Quirk of his Fire side being relegated to the occasional melting of the aforementioned ice. Katsuki already knew why: he’d secretly eavesdropped in on the private conversation between Icy-Hot and Deku. It… made him feel a little guilty for spying, yes, but in the end, Katsuki had learned that Icy-Hot had effectively been holding back half his power the entire time during the festival, and yet he’d still managed to secure high placements despite this.

However, Deku had proven to be such a tough opponent for Icy-Hot that the Vulpix finally did the unthinkable and used Inferno Overdrive in combat for what Katsuki assumed must be the first time in years, if not his life. Sure, Deku may have sustained a lot of damage doing so, but the fact still stood that the Eevee had countered Subzero Slammer over and over the entire fight, so Katsuki thought it was possible Deku might have won had Icy-Hot refused to use Inferno Overdrive.

Even Icy-Hot’s next opponent… what was his name again? The Lucario that was the other Pokémon besides Funko Pop to hang out with Deku. The Class Rep. Four Eyes. Well, whatever, even that guy had been defeated with only Subzero Slammer. Which meant, if Katsuki succeeded where Deku couldn’t and beat an Icy-Hot that used both Subzero Slammer _and_ Inferno Overdrive, it would finally prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Typhlosion was superior.

Katsuki was thinking about this as he kicked the door to the waiting room open, only to find none other than Icy-Hot inside staring into space and deeply lost in thought.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Kacchan said, pointing an accusatory finger at Icy-Hot.

The Vulpix just gave him a vacant and disinterested stare.

“This is my space t-” Katsuki suddenly noticed that he’d entered waiting room _#2_ instead of #1 by accident.

Icy-Hot looked away and went right back to staring off into space contemplatively. Alright, that does it. This Hybrid bastard not only considered Deku a more worthy rival, but he’d been completely ignoring Katsuki for the whole festival, and the Typhlosion was up to here with being the third wheel in the rivalry (imagine being the third wheel to _Deku_ of all Pokémon)!

“Okay, so I entered the wrong room, big deal. That doesn’t mean I won’t be on top of my game!” Katsuki stomped towards Icy-Hot, who infuriatingly continued to ignore him.

Katsuki ignited a paw and slammed it right next to the Vulpix. “YOU BETTER COME AT ME WITH ALL YOU’VE GOT, ICY-HOT!”

“Midoriya said the same thing.” Icy-Hot remarked, not flinching in the slightest from the explosion “That fool… instead of trying to win the fight, he chose to help me instead.”

Then, Icy-Hot _finally_ turned his attention towards Katsuki.

“You were childhood friends with him, right?” he asked, “Tell me, was he always this helpful?”

Katsuki scowled. Yes, Deku had _always_ been a goody-two-shoes bleeding heart like that even back when he and Katsuki were toddlers. The Typhlosion always hated it because it meant Deku would try to help him for even the tiniest of problems. Katsuki fell into a shallow body of water and got a little wet? Stupid Deku would run to his side and try to help him up and ask if he’d bumped his head. As if Katsuki could get hurt by something as mundane as a little trip! The damn nerd had no right to look down on Katsuki and treat him like a weakling, especially since Deku was the Quirkless one (back then, at least)!

“What does _he_ have to do with any of this?!” Katsuki shouted, clenching his fists “Your fight is with _me_ now, Icy-Hot! Focus on the match, and don’t you DARE hold back! I want you to use Inferno Overdrive on me so that everyone knows I beat you at your best!”

Katsuki then stormed out and headed for the correct waiting room so he could strategize. _I’ll show the world what a champion looks like!_

* * *

To Katsuki, waiting to get to the arena somehow felt agonizingly slow and blindingly fast at the same time, but finally it was time for the match to start. This was it. The moment of truth.

“This is it, folks, the final battle of the Sports Festival! In just a moment we’ll see which first year comes out on top!” cried Present Mic from atop the announcing booth “From the Hero Course: Shoto Todoroki versus his classmate Katsuki Bakugo! BEGIN!”

Icy-Hot made the first move, opening with a massive Subzero Slammer blast, which Katsuki parried with a barrage of Lava Plumes. It wasn’t enough, however, and Katuski quickly found himself surrounded by ice in all directions, even above. The Hybrid bastard had trapped him inside a massive glacier.

This wasn’t going to stop Katsuki, though. He wouldn’t lose, not as easily as Shitty Bug had, and _especially_ not without getting to experience Inferno Overdrive! Furiously, the Typhlosion used his Lava Plume to blast the ice away.

“You’ve got some pretty powerful attacks!” Katsuki remarked once he’d tunneled his way out of the glacier. “But you’re a bad aim!”

The two young Pokémon rushed at each other, but just as they got close, Katsuki used Lava Plume to dodge Icy-Hot at the last possible second, grab him, and then throw him out of the arena with all his might. Of course, the Vulpix didn’t lose just yet; using his Subzero Slammer to create a makeshift ice wave to surf on to prevent from going out of bounds and getting back into a proper combat position.

Katsuki attacked again, deliberately aiming for Icy-Hot’s left side so that he’d be forced to use Inferno Overdrive. Infuriatingly, though, the Vulpix simply tackled him into the ground.

“Stop screwing around!” Katsuki growled as he got back to his feet. “You think I’m not worthy of your fire?!?!”

Icy-Hot said nothing, instead, he stared numbly at Katsuki. Why?! Why was Icy-Hot limiting himself to Subzero Slammer? Katsuki wanted, _needed_ for there to be no doubt that he was the best student at the Sports Festival, but how was he supposed to prove that if his stupid opponent wouldn’t use the same kind of power he used against Deku?!

Outraged, Katsuki ignited his paws and rushed towards his opponent once again. “JUST COME AT ME WITH YOUR FULL POWER ALREADY YOU BASTARD!!!”

Even with the Typhlosion coming at him at full speed and readying his Quirk for a massive strike, though, Icy-Hot continued to just stand there staring numbly as frost slowly started to cover his body. Until…

“COME ON, TODOROKI! DON’T GIVE UP! DO YOUR BEST!”

That was Deku yelling encouragement at Icy-Hot from the stands. Suddenly, Icy-Hot seemed to regain his focus, and the frost in his body melted as the Vulpix set the left side of his body ablaze. Katsuki grinned. Yes! He was going to use Inferno Overdrive! That stupid nerd had just handed Kastuki the ticket he needed to prove his superiority!

Katsuki jumped and prepared to execute an improvised move he’d always wanted to try: The Howitzer Impact, which consisted in him using Lava Plume while spinning in place as he dove headfirst towards his opponent. Icy-Hot got into position to intercept it with his own Fire-type Quirk and… suddenly, the flames in his left side went out. No. No! NO NONONONONONONONO NOOOOO!!!

Too late. Katsuki couldn’t stop Howitzer Impact and the attack hit its mark. Icy-Hot was knocked unconscious without ever using Inferno Overdrive.

“Hey… Hey!” Katsuki grabbed Icy-Hot by the neck and tried to shake him awake “STOP MESSING AROUND! THIS ISN’T A REAL WIN FOR ME UNLESS YOU GO ALL OUT! YOU DIDN’T GO ALL OUT YET! SO, WAKE UP ALREADY AND KEEP FIGHTING YOU ICY-HOT BASTARD!”

Suddenly, the air around Katsuki was filled with a sweet fragrance, and the Typhlosion suddenly started feeling very sleepy for some reason. Katsuki let go of Icy-Hot and felt himself hit the ground as he fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

There are very few things in the world that are universal, and today Bakugo had proven that winning first place always made one happy was not in that list.

The Sports Festival was finally over, and young Bakugo had been declared the winner. Being the #1 hero, Toshinori had been granted the honor of giving the finalists their medals and give a final speech. Third place for Tokoyami, which young Iida was also supposed to share (unfortunately, the Lucario had to leave on account of a sudden family emergency. Toshinori could only hope it wasn’t anything too bad). Then came Todoroki in second place, and finally Bakugo as the champion.

But young Bakugo was absolutely _furious_ about his win, so much so that Midnight had had to knock him out with her Quirk Sweet Scent before he dislocated young Todoroki’s neck in his fruitless attempts to wake the Vulpix. And now, Bakugo had to be _quite literally_ _chained, cuffed, and muzzled_ just so he could be kept still enough to receive his award.

“This… seems like a bit much. At least you delivered on what you said in the pledge.” Toshinori muttered as he took the muzzle off young Bakugo.

“All Might…” Bakugo practically spat out as soon as he was unmuzzled “Winning this way DOESN’T PROVE THAT I’M THE BEST ONE HERE! I REFUSE TO ACCEPT A WIN LIKE THIS!”

The face the young Typhlosion was making was truly something, to say the least. Toshinori even thought it was right up there with some of the worst villains he had faced throughout his career in terms of scariness.

“Don’t be so dismissive of your victory, young mon.” said Toshinori, trying to calm Bakugo down “You won because you stayed focused on your goal, so please, accept this medal, even if you have to think of it as a scar.”

Toshinori tried to put the gold medal around young Bakugo’s neck, only for the Typhlosion to jerk his head out of the way, the furious scowl not fading from his face.

“I DON’T WANT THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE!” Bakugo cried angrily “I DIDN’T EARN IT RIGHTLY!”

“Come on, will you just-” said Toshinori as he tried again to give Bakugo his medal only for him to again move his head out of the way.

“Let me-” and again…

“Put this-” again…

“On you!” again, and still no luck.

“I SAID GET THAT TRASH AWAY FROM ME!” Bakugo screamed.

“Young Bakugo, _please_ , we don’t have all day and quite frankly the scene you’re making is starting to get embarrassing…” Toshinori practically begged. “Come on now~ here comes the airplane for a landing~ Nyooommm!”

“WHAT THE SHIT, ALL MIGHT?!” Bakugo cried, somehow even angrier than before “WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE A FUCKING BABY?!”

“Because right now you’re acting like one.” Toshinori couldn’t help but be blunt “Now would you hold still already so we can get this over with?”

After a couple more unsuccessful attempts, Toshinori finally managed to give Bakugo his medal, although it didn’t go around his neck, as the Typhlosion stopped it by opening his mouth and biting down on it. Eh… close enough.

Toshinori gave a final speech to the rest of the first years, encouraging them to learn from the experiences gained during this festival, and telling them that by their performances they were shaping up to be promising future heroes.

…Unfortunately, the speech didn’t quite end in the high note Toshinori was hoping for, as he was hoping for the final words to be yelled in unison with the crowd, except he made a faux pas and said, “Thanks for your hard work!” instead of the “PLUS ULTRA!” that everyone else yelled and was obviously expecting. And yeah… in hindsight that would have been much better. Oops.

* * *

A chill ran down Tenya’s spine when his mother called to tell him the grim news. She called him right after his loss against Todoroki at the quarterfinals, and at first Tenya thought she’d simply wanted to console him for his defeat or something. But the subject of the phone call was oh so much worse than that.

Tensei had been attacked by a villain and was currently hospitalized.

After quickly informing his friends Midoriya and Uraraka of the situation, Tenya took a train to Hosu City, where his brother had been attacked, though his mind was in such a haze from the shock of the news that the young Lucario didn’t quite feel like he was in the real world anymore.

As Tenya made his way to the hospital where Tensei was being treated, his dread grew ever larger. He was afraid of what he’d find. Just how bad was Tensei’s condition? Would he manage to pull through and recover or… or…

Tenya shook his head. _No. Don’t think about that. Don’t you_ dare _think about that!_

The young Lucario was so scared that he completely disregarded the rule of no running inside a hospital. He couldn’t help it. He needed to see his big brother.

“Mom?!” Tenya cried when he saw the female Lucario sitting on a bench next to the room where Tensei was being treated. She was in a fetal position, her face buried in her knees.

“Oh, Tenya!” his mother stood up as soon as she heard her younger son’s call.

“How is Tensei doing?!” Tenya asked, his voice cracking.

His mother’s eyes trembled, and she looked away. Tenya panicked and opened the door to his brother’s room.

Upon seeing the state that the older Lucario was in, Tenya froze. The attack had been _brutal_ : Tensei had _numerous_ bruises all over his body and if the bandage around his head was any indication, possibly also a concussion. He had an IV attached to one of his arms, an oxygen mask on his face. At least his heart rate appeared to be stable, thank goodness.

“The anesthesia has worn off, but he’s still going in and out of consciousness.” Said the Audino doctor treating him. “If the surgery had happened any later, I don’t know if he would have made it…”

“Little brother…” Tensei said weakly “Is that you?”

“Tensei!” Tenya approached his brother’s bed and knelt beside it, tears began filling the young Lucario’s eyes, and behind him, their mother had started sobbing “You’re gonna be fine!”

“Sorry…” said Tensei “I’m supposed to be someone you look up to… but now look at me…”

“Tensei!” Tenya couldn’t hold his tears back any longer, so he let them fall across his face.

“Little brother… listen to me…” Tensei said in between heavy breaths “I think… I’ve lost the use of my legs… I can no longer work as a pro-hero…”

Tenya’s eyes widened, and his tears flowed even more fiercely than before. Behind him, he heard his mother gasp in horror. _No…_

“Tenya…” Tensei continued “It’s up to you now… to carry on the name of Ingenium…”

Tenya gasped “Tensei, I can’t-!”

His brother gave him a weak smile “I know… I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon either… but… I know you’ll live up to the name, Tenya… so, do you promise to carry on the Ingenium legacy for me?”

“I-” Iida whimpered “I promise…”

Tensei gave him one last smile before exhaling and closing his eyes.

Tenya stared at his unconscious brother, and his grief turned into rage.

“ _Who did this_?” he growled, looking up at the doctor “Do you have any information on my brother’s attacker?”

“I-” the doctor stammered “y-yes. The villain who did this to him is-is the Hero Killer Stain.”

Tenya furrowed his brow. He’d heard of that villain before; he was a Bisharp who, as his moniker indicated, had a reputation for permanently ending the careers of dozens of pro-heroes, usually by killing them, but sometimes by hurting them so badly that they could never fully recover and were forced to retire… just like what had happened to Tensei.

“Hero Killer Stain…” Tenya repeated, his voice dripping with anger.

“Tenya…” his mother walked over to him and pulled him into a hug, trying to comfort him.

But Tenya barely felt his mother’s hug or her sobbing into his shoulder. All he could feel was deep, seething hatred. That villain had crippled his brother and very nearly killed him. Tensei was still so young, yet now he’d been forced into early retirement when there were still so many Pokémon he had to save and inspire! Tenya clenched his fists so hard that they hurt.

The young Lucario had only one thought in his mind: he’d hunt the Hero Killer down and make him pay for what he’d done.


	14. Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The real winners were the friends we made along the way.

After Iida had told him of why he’d have to leave the Sports Festival so abruptly, Izuku had been so worried that he’d had trouble paying attention to the closing ceremony. That worry then increased tenfold when Izuku caught a glimpse of the news and say that Iida’s brother Ingenium had been brutally attacked by none other than the Hero Killer. Although Ingenium had survived, the fact that his attacker was the Hero Killer meant that the pro-hero’s chances of a full recovery were… slim at best.

“Baby, you gave me such a scare in that festival! I passed out seven times watching it! _Seven_! Can you believe it?!”

His mother’s words brought Izuku back to the present. The young Eevee suddenly realized that he’d been staring down at his breakfast and had yet to take a single bite.

“O-oh, yeah?”

“Yep, sure did!” his mother nodded “Although the last two times I passed out were probably due to dehydration.”

“Kinda sounds like you were way more heroic than I was out there.” Izuku deadpanned as he nibbled on his food, earning himself an unamused stare from the Espeon sitting opposite to him.

“Don’t mock your mother.” she said “Look, I’m glad you turned out to have a Quirk after all, but did it have to be such a dangerous one? I’ll keep supporting you, but I am still your mother, so of course I’m gonna worry too!”

Feeling ashamed, Izuku nodded “Sorry…”

“It’s alright!” his mother laughed “By the way, I recorded the whole festival. Would you like to watch it with me?”

Izuku fidgeted slightly. Although it would be a good idea to review the whole thing, right now Izuku really wasn’t in the mood to see his own failures. “Maybe later, but thanks anyway, mom.”

After finishing breakfast, Izuku excused himself to go out for a walk. There were currently a lot of things in his mind and was hoping some fresh air would help with the stress. UA had given the students two break days to recover from the Sports Festival, so Izuku had plenty of free time to settle his thoughts.

Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about Iida and Ingenium: the fact that the former looked up to the latter made the situation bad enough already, but the two being brothers just made it that much worse. The kind of grief that poor Iida must be going through must be unbearable… Izuku knew he had to check in on his friend as soon as possible and offer his support.

Another thing that troubled Izuku’s mind was Extreme Evoboost: although he’d made some progress with the power in that he could control it whenever he used it against another Pokémon, that just wasn’t enough. It was frustrating: Izuku kept putting everything he had in trying to achieve his dream of becoming a great hero, but without having even mastered his Quirk yet, Izuku had a long way to go.

 _One day_ , the young Eevee thought, _when I have full control of Extreme Evoboost… maybe then I’ll finally be able to say it… “I am here!”_

Izuku was mulling over this when he saw a familiar half-Alolan, half-Kantonian Vulpix standing in the street just across him.

“Todoroki? What are you doing here?” Izuku asked as he approached his classmate.

“Hi Midoriya.” Todoroki greeted him. “I just needed to get far away from my house for a while…”

Oh. Yeah, that made sense. During the final match Todoroki had been unable to use Inferno Overdrive against Kacchan and that had cost him the win. Izuku could imagine that Endeavor wouldn’t be happy about that, to put it lightly… “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Todoroki shrugged “Anyway, I’m glad that we bumped into each other. I didn’t have the chance to thank you properly yesterday.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Izuku tilted his head.

“At the Sports Festival, you reminded me that my powers are my own.” Said Todoroki. “Your words encouraged me to use my true potential.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t any real help in the long run.” Said Izuku “You were unable to use Inferno Overdrive during your fight against Kacchan…”

“True, but it’s not like I just went back to square one either.” Said Todoroki “See, it was thanks to you that yesterday after the Festival, I finally gathered the courage to go and visit my mom at the hospital.”

Izuku blinked in surprise. “A-and-and how did it- I mean, was she-?”

Izuku stuttered and stammered repeatedly, unsure of how to approach the subject. Maybe he shouldn’t have spoken at all. To Izuku’s surprise, though, Todoroki smiled at him. It was the first time he’d ever seen the Vulpix smile.

“The visit went far better than I could have imagined, Midoriya.” Said Todoroki “Mom apologized for my scar as soon as she saw me, and I finally got to tell her that I have never blamed her for that. We talked for hours after that, and during that time it was almost like the good old days we used to spend together. Midoriya, if you hadn’t gotten me to see reason, I never would have gathered the courage to visit mom after all these years. It’s thanks to you that we both could finally get some closure.”

Izuku was speechless. Thanks to _him_? Somehow, that felt like Todoroki was giving him way too much credit. After all, all Izuku had done was state the simple truth. Nothing more. Regardless, Izuku smiled back at the Vulpix.

“I’m so happy for you, Todoroki!” He said.

“By the way, I was on my way to a coffee shop that opened just recently.” Said Todoroki “If-if you aren’t doing anything else right now… would you like to come? I’ve heard the stuff they serve there is amazing.”

Izuku perked up “Of course! We’ve got two whole days free, and I can’t do my usual jogging because, well, you know.” Izuku gestured to his right foreleg, which was still in a cast.

Todoroki’s expression turned sad. “Oh yeah… it’s the one you got during the fight against me, right? I should apologize to you…”

“No! It’s not your fault!” said Izuku, shaking his head “The only reason I got this badly injured in the first place is because I still don’t have much control over my Quirk, so this is on me, not you.”

Todoroki seemed a bit taken aback, but Izuku’s reply seemed to calm him a little.

“Anyway, we should get going.” Said Todoroki “Otherwise it’s gonna be packed and we’ll spend like half the day waiting in a line.”

“Oh, right.”

* * *

“Wait, the shop you were talking about was Café Mix?!” cried a shocked Izuku once the two Pokémon were standing in front of the establishment, which thankfully didn’t have that big a waiting line just yet “But the stuff here is super expensive! I don’t think I have enough money on me right now…”

“Hey, I’m the son of the #2 hero, remember?” said Todoroki “It’ll be my treat.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. “What?! No! I couldn’t! It wouldn’t be right, Todoroki!”

“Midoriya, I insist.” Todoroki said firmly “It’s the least I can do after what you did for me.”

Izuku tried to protest, but Todokori wouldn’t budge, so in the end Izuku reluctantly let Todoroki pay for their lattes.

As they were waiting for their orders, Izuku noticed a familiar Malamar sitting at a nearby table.

“Hey, Shinzo!” Izuku ran towards him.

Shinzo looked surprised to see him, but nonetheless returned the greeting with a flat “Oh, it’s you.”

“Hey, um…” Izuku began awkwardly “How have you been?”

Shinzo took a sip of his coffee before answering. “More than fine, actually. It seems that I made a good impression in my fight against you. Aizawa-sensei has even offered to give me some personal tutoring.”

“Really? That’s great!” said Izuku. “Does this mean they’re gonna let you into the Hero Course?”

“It’s a slow process, but it is being considered.” Shinzo answered “But why are you so happy about that? The Hero Course can only have 40 students per year, so if I do get let in, one of the Hero Course students would have to be removed to make room, and that could easily be either you or one of your classmates.”

Izuku flinched “Well… that’s true. But maybe they’ll make an exception? Aizawa-sensei gave my class a test on the first day of class and said that whoever got the lowest score would be expelled, only for it to turn out to be a logical deception. They might do something similar and allow the Hero Course to have an extra student without anyone having to take a fall!”

“Well, aren’t you the idealistic one.” Shinzo said as he took another sip from his drink.

“Hey, Midoriya, who is- oh.” Todoroki had just walked next to him, with their lattes on a special container designed for quadrupedal Pokémon and made an abrupt pause as he recognized Shinzo, who only responded with a flat “‘Sup.”

It was only after Todoroki and Shinzo spent an uncomfortably long time staring at each other that it occurred to Izuku that the son of the #2 hero who had two amazing Quirks meeting someone who had been forced to take a hard route to heroism because of his Quirk probably wasn’t an ideal combination.

“Um, hey Todoroki! Thanks for the latte!” Izuku said, trying to break the awkwardness. “Um, you remember Shinzo-”

“The brainwashing Malamar you fought against, yes.” Said Todoroki, interrupting Izuku “Kinda hard to forget. It was… actually kind of a cool battle.”

Shinzo seemed to smile a little at this. Good. They were trying to be civil to one another.

“Um, thanks.” Said Shinzo “The fight between you two was pretty awesome too. Um… anyway would you guys like to sit here?”

Todoroki looked at Izuku as if asking if it was okay, and Izuku smiled and nodded.

* * *

Shoto couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so content. Finally talking with his mother yesterday had lifted a huge weight off his chest, and today he was spending leisurely time with the Pokémon that had made it possible.

With how timid Midoriya usually came off as, it came as a surprise to Shoto just how _talkative_ we was being right now: after they’d accepted Shinzo’s offer, the three Pokémon had started a conversation about the events of the Sports festival, and it was Midoriya the one who had recounted everything with the most excitement, not to mention detail. Listening to the Eevee ramble on and on with such enthusiasm was fascinating, especially because Midoriya seemed to regard every Quirk he saw used at the festival as being equally impressive, which Shoto certainly found intriguing, as most other Pokémon would think that Midoriya’s Quirk was among the most powerful -and therefore among the most impressive- ones, regardless of if it caused damage to his body or not.

“By the way, Shinzo, when you used your Hypnosis on me, I remember seeing the spots in your body light up, but your Quirk activates with your voice, doesn’t it? So, what is the bioluminescence for?” Midoriya asked Shinzo once the conversation finally got to the tournament part of the festival.

“Oh, these?” Shinzo gestured to the yellow spots in his mantle “Their lighting up is just a sign that I successfully hypnotized someone. They stop glowing as soon as a mental hold is broken.”

“So cool…” Midoriya’s green eyes were sparkling in amazement.

“You sure seem to like using the word ‘cool’ a lot when talking about Quirks.” Shoto couldn’t help but remark.

Midoriya suddenly looked embarrassed. “Sorry! Am I being too annoying? I know I ramble a lot, and sometimes others get mad at me because of it, so I’m sorry…”

“No, no.” Shoto shook his head “It’s actually kind of interesting to hear your rambles.”

That wasn’t a lie: Midoriya had quite the eye for detail when it came to Quirks, even speculating on how the fights might have played out if the arrangement of opponents at the tournament round had been different. Interestingly, Midoriya seemed convinced that the most likely final match for the tournament could have been Shoto versus Shinzo.

Anyway, eventually Midoriya had to excuse himself for a bathroom break, leaving Shoto alone with Shinzo.

“That Eevee’s weird.” Shinzo said after a moment of silence.

Shoto glared at him “And what do you mean by ‘weird’, exactly?”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Shinzo replied “it’s just… I’m not used to Pokémon being that amicable towards me so quickly, especially if they learn about my Quirk before they get to know me. Heck, do you know how many times I hypnotized him during the festival? _Three_ _times_. _Three_. And yet, despite that, he seems to have no issue speaking to me casually. Most Pokémon become scared to even look at me just by learning what Hypnosis does, let alone getting to experience its effects.”

“I guess that’s because Midoriya is childhood friends with Bakugo, who I assure you is far scarier than you could ever be.” Said Shoto.

“Hold on,” said Shinzo “Bakugo?! As in, the arrogant and violent Typhlosion?!”

“Yep.” Shoto nodded “That’s the one.”

“Seriously?!” Shinzo looked utterly perplexed “Midoriya is childhood friends with _that guy_?! Sweet Xerneas if that’s what his friends are like I’d hate to meet his enemies.”

Shoto couldn’t help but laugh “I know, right?”

“Speaking of which, as upset as I was at the time for not making it that far into the tournament, I was totally rooting for you to win the final round fight.” Said Shinzo “That Bakugo seriously needs to be knocked down a peg.”

Shoto sighed “I guess so… but I have my own baggage to overcome.”

“I think we all do in a way.” Said Shinzo.

* * *

“Hey, thanks again for the latte, Todoroki.” Said Midoriya as the two Pokémon walked away from Café Mix (Shinzo had left a little earlier) “I promise to pay you back the money when we get back to school.”

“Midoriya, I told you before, it was my treat.” Shoto said for what felt like the umpteenth time “Just think of it as a ‘thank you’ gift from me, okay?”

“Okay…” said Izuku suddenly looking concerned “Anyway, are you going to be alright?”

Oh, he meant Shoto going back home.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Said the Vulpix “Endeavor’s probably not even there now. Cause you know, work.”

Midoriya still looked rather uncertain but nodded regardless.

“Just… if he ever gives you trouble, let me know, okay?” he said “Anyway, I have to go now, but before we go we should trade contact info, for emergencies, or in case we want to hang out again later. Would that be okay with you?”

Shoto blinked “A-are you for real?”

Izuku nodded “I had a great time! We should do this again, and maybe even invite the rest of our classmates: we hung out at the arcade after the second day of class, but you weren’t there, and you should have been! It was so much fun!”

Without further ado, the two Pokémon gave each other their contact information and then Izuku left.

As Shoto watched him go, it suddenly dawned on him that he’d just spent the day hanging out with a Pokémon who wasn’t part of his family. Moreover, he’d been happy. Truth is, due to his upbringing, Shoto had never really gotten to hang out with other Pokémon his age, and although many had expressed respect for him, it was mostly due to his being the son of the #2 hero more than anything else. But Midoriya didn’t seem to care about that; he seemed to like Shoto for Shoto. Realization struck the Vulpix like lightning.

_Did I… did I just make a friend?_


	15. Names and Internships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gran Torino makes his debut.

Once the two-day break was over, classes resumed as usual, though things didn’t go quite back to how they were before.

On the way to school, Izuku had been recognized by multiple Pokémon, who congratulated him on making it to the top 8 at the Sports Festival, and a few even claimed they had been rooting for him to win. And he wasn’t the only one either:

“I’m telling you guys, I felt like I was famous!” said Ashido, jumping up and down in excitement “Everyone wanted to talk to me on my way here!”

“Yeah, the same thing happened to me!” said Kirishima. “It was so cool!”

“Pokémon were constantly staring at me as I was walking down the street!” said Hagakure “It was so embarrassing!”

“Yeah, but isn’t seeing a red zigzag stripe floating in mid-air already cause enough to gawk?” Ojiro pointed out.

“Augh! You guys get cheered and praised, but all I got was a bunch of little kids telling me ‘nice try’!” Sero protested “The looks on their faces are what really annoyed me! Everyone seems to see me as pitiable now!”

“Don’t feel so bad, there’s no shame in losing against Todoroki.” Said Asui.

“Yeah, but he’s the only one to lose _badly_ against Todoroki.” Said Mineta “I mean, look at how long Midoriya lasted in his fight against him, and Bakugo outright beat-”

Mineta was stopped by a slam to the head from Asui’s tongue.

“You’re not helping.” She snapped at the Pansage.

“Well, I _loved_ the Sports Festival!” said Kaminari “It practically made us into celebrities!”

Izuku smiled. It was good to see everyone in such high spirits. There was someone that had him worried, though: Iida had bumped into him on the way to the classroom, but strangely, he didn’t seem to be acting any differently from normal. Izuku tried to ask about Ingenuim, but Iida brushed him off and insisted that the pro-hero was fine.

Izuku did not buy that for a second. As much as Iida was trying to act normal, there was something very… off about the way he did it. Izuku couldn’t quite put his paw on it, but he just could _tell_ something wasn’t right. What was especially suspicious was how dismissive Iida acted when asked about Ingenium; knowing how much the young Lucario admired his older brother, there was no way he’d be so blasé about Ingenium being hospitalized, especially when news outlets were speculating all over the place that the pro-hero might be beyond recovery.

Izuku’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a now fully healed Aizawa-sensei entering the classroom and addressing his students.

“We have a big class today” said the Absol “on Hero Informatics. You get to pick your hero names.”

“YES, THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!” the whole class cried jubilantly in unison, though Aizawa-sensei quickly silenced them with a glare.

“Before we get to _that_ , though, we need to talk about internships: based on your performances at the Sports Festival, several of you got recruit offers from various pros.” Aizawa-sensei said as he showed them a graph listing the offer results for Class 1-A.

Todoroki was the one who’d gotten the most offers, with Kacchan not that far behind him; they both got offers numbering in the thousands, while almost everyone else got only a few hundred or just a few dozen. Izuku’s heart sank when he saw that he hadn’t gotten any offers.

“See, I told you so.” Mineta whispered behind him “I bet everyone was super grossed out by the crazy way you use your power!”

Izuku sighed. Mineta was a douche, but unfortunately he was a _correct_ douche. Working with a Pokémon who could only use his power once before he became a total load was probably too big of a hassle for anyone to want to deal with.

“Despite these results, you’ll _all_ be interning with pros.” Said Aizawa-sensei.

“Wait, even those of us that didn’t get offers?” asked Izuku.

“Yes.” Said Aizawa-sensei “You may have already experienced combat against real villains, but it’ll still be valuable experience to learn from real pros up close and personal, in the field.”

“And for that we need hero names!” Satou concluded enthusiastically.

Aizawa-sensei nodded “These hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-”

“You’ll have hell to pay later!” cried Midnight just as she entered the classroom “Because what you pick today could easily end up becoming your permanent hero name, so you better be careful with how you name yourselves, or you could get stuck with something really lame or embarrassing.”

“…Right.” Said Aizawa, looking irritated at having been interrupted “Midnight will be the one to give final approval to your hero names. Take as much time as you need, preferably a lot so my nap lasts.”

Then Aizawa-sensei grabbed his sleeping bag, cocooned himself inside it, and without further ado dropped to the floor and started snoring.

“Great!” Midnight clapped her hands together “Now, when you come up with a hero name, think about what kind of impression you want to want to give off to others. The kind of hero you want to represent. Take All Might for example; when you hear that name, even without the context of it belonging to the #1 hero, it gives off the impression of power, of determination, of someone that can do it all.”

 _The kind of hero I want to represent…_ Izuku thought. When he was little, Izuku often came up with possible hero names with the help of his mother. All of them were derived from All Might’s. Now, though, Izuku didn’t think it’d be right for him to go for a straight-up homage to his idol: he still had a long, LONG way to go before he even came close to being in the same league as the Symbol of Peace.

“Alright, then!” said Midnight “Who wants to come forward and say their hero name first?”

Izuku tensed up. Okay, coming up with a name was hard enough as it is, but now it turned out they had to present them to the whole class?

Aoyama stepped forward confidently.

“I am the Shining Hero: I Cannot Stop Twinkling!” he said, making a pose.

The whole class gawked at him in disbelief. That name was _absolutely ridiculous_. There was no way that-

“You know, it’d be better if you removed the ‘I’ and shortened the ‘Cannot’ to ‘Can’t’.” said Midnight.

“Hold on, you LIKED it?!” several students cried.

“I mean, you can’t deny that it fits him.” Midnight gestured to the Starmie, who was indeed sparkling nonstop even as he went back to his seat.

“Alrighty, I’m next!” said Ashido as she stepped to the front of the class “And my name’s gonna be Alien Queen!”

Oh, that one’s actually pretty cool-

“WHAT?! You mean like that horrible monster with the acidic blood from that one movie franchise?!” cried Midnight, looking appalled “Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”

“Dangit…” Ashido went sulking back to her seat.

Izuku covered his eyes with his paws. This whole thing looked like a joke! Now the Eevee felt he needed to come up with something seriously clever that both appealed to Midnight’s tastes AND wasn’t utterly ridiculous like what Aoyama had gone with…

“I think I have one.” Asui stepped up.

“Lay it on us, then!” said Midnight.

“I’ve had this one in mind since grade school.” said Asui “The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy.”

“That’s delightful!” said Midnight “It makes you sound approachable!”

Izuku sighed. Thank Arceus, finally a normal one. Turns out, rather than ridiculousness, Midnight simply had a preference for the cute and the quirky. That made it much easier to think up of a good name… or so Izuku thought.

By the time the whole class had presented their hero names and gotten them approved, Izuku still hadn’t come up with anything. Heck, even Ashido had though up of a different hero name already! Very soon, everyone in the class had picked their hero names, and only Izuku, Kacchan and Iida were left. Granted, in Kacchan’s case it had been because his pick of “King Explosion Murder” had been deemed too violent.

Izuku thought and thought. What could be a good hero name? Something that was inspiring, but not out of his league… then it clicked. Izuku had just thought of the most fitting name for himself.

“Okay, of the last three, who will go first?” asked Midnight.

Iida silently stepped forward. “My hero name will be Tenya.”

“Oh, so you’re using your first name like Todoroki?” Midnight swished her tail, intrigued. “It’s a bit unusual that we have two Pokémon in the same class using their first names, but oh well.”

Iida simply shrugged and went back to his seat in complete silence.

“Well, I think Bakugo could use a bit more time to rethink his hero name.” said Midnight “So, Midoriya, are you ready to tell us yours?”

“Yes.” Izuku said as he stepped to the front of the class. “My hero name will be Deku.”

The whole class looked at him with shock.

“Hold on, that’s what Bakugo always calls you. And it means ‘useless’, doesn’t it?” said Kaminari “Do you really want your hero name to be an insult?”

“Yeah, dude, remember you could be stuck with it for the rest of your life!” said Kirishima.

Izuku sighed “Truth is, I used to hate this name too, but then someone taught me that it could have a different meaning, of determination, and that changed the way I feel about it to the point that now I really like it. So, I decided that Deku should be my codename!”

Izuku saw Uraraka smile at him, and he smiled back.

“That’s… that’s so _beautiful_! To turn an insult into something empowering…” Midnight wiped a tear “I love it! Great job, Midoriya!”

And with that, only Kacchan was left.

“Alright, you Salazzle hag, how about this…” Kacchan grumbled as he stepped forward once Izuku had returned to his seat “ _LORD_ Explosion Murder!”

“Bakugo, that’s basically the same thing as your first choice.”

* * *

Once everyone had their codenames, Aizawa-sensei gave everyone a list of agencies to choose from for their week-long internships. The students who had gotten offers could pick from those, while everyone else was given a special list of agencies that had agreed to take in students for internships. The students had to make their choices before the weekend.

The fact that the students with no offers had 40 options made deciding pretty difficult for Izuku, after all, the agencies all had different specialties, but Izuku kinda wanted to do everything...

“Don’t worry too much about it, it’ll work out!” said Uraraka as everyone got ready to leave for their homes “I already decided on Gunhead’s Agency!”

Well, that was certainly a surprise.

“But Gunhead specializes in combat!” Said Izuku “I thought you wanted to be a rescue specialist like Thirteen.”

“Well, yeah, I _do_ want to specialize in rescue.” Said Uraraka, striking a battle pose “It’s just that after facing up against Bakugo, I thought it would be a good idea to get stronger, you know, to expand my possibilities and give myself a different perspective!”

Izuku blinked. Huh. That was incredibly reasonable.

“By the way, wanna walk home together?”

Izuku smiled and nodded.

“Great!” said Uraraka, who then turned her head towards Iida’s desk “Hey, Iida, come with us-”

But the Lucario was not at his seat.

“I guess he must have already decided on his internship and is turning in the forms.” Said Izuku as he opened the door.

Suddenly All Might appeared at the entrance staring down at him.

“Young Midoriya, come with me for a second!” said the Jolteon.

All Might took Izuku to an empty hallway and started talking.

“I’ll get straight to the point.” He said “You’ve just received an offer from a hero who’d like to take you in.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Izuku couldn’t believe his good luck. “Who is it?”

“The hero’s name is Gran Torino.” Said All Might “He taught at this school back in my day, but just for one year. He was my homeroom teacher, in fact. _And_ he’s one of the few entrusted with Extreme Evoboost’s secret, which is honestly the most likely reason he’s giving you this offer in the first place.”

Izuku was getting more and more elated with every word. This Pokémon sounded so awesome! Then, suddenly one of All Might’s statements clicked in the young Eevee’s mind.

“Hold on, how does this Gran Torino know about Extreme Evoboost?” Izuku asked.

“He was the sworn friend of my predecessor.” All Might suddenly started shaking and stuttering “A-anyway, i-it is my duty t-to train you, but-but since you got an o-offer y-you should work w-with him th-this week!”

Now Izuku’s elation turned into nervousness: _All Might_ was freaking out about this Gran Torino! Just how scary was he?!

* * *

Days later, Izuku and his classmates were at the station, ready to head for their internships. Izuku carried a special backpack containing his repaired hero costume, which made the young Eevee feel even more excited, as he’d get the chance to finally wear it again after so long.

However, that excitement was also intermingled with serious concern, namely over Iida: throughout the week, the Lucario had been acting very notably distant and detached, often leaving the classroom without telling his friends. Izuku knew this current mood of Iida’s obviously had to do with Ingenium. However, as much as Izuku wanted to offer support, the fact was that Iida hadn’t come to him or asked for help, and Izuku felt that trying to pry might very well make things worse. But then he found out that Iida had chosen to intern at a hero agency located in Hosu City, which just happened to be the place where Ingenium had been attacked. That obviously wasn’t a coincidence…

“Iida, wait!” Izuku ran to the Lucario as he was walking away to wait for his train, and Uraraka joined in.

Iida stopped, but didn’t turn to look at them.

“Hey,” Izuku began “If you ever wanna talk or anything, just let us know, okay?”

Uraraka nodded “We’re your friends, and we’re here for you.”

Iida turned around and smiled at them.

“Thank, you two.” He said “But I’m doing fine. I should get going.”

And then Iida resumed walking, and Izuku and Uraraka watched him go. They decided to leave him be, figuring that if anything came up he’d just call or send a text message or something.

* * *

Izuku found himself standing in front of an old apartment that clearly wasn’t being properly cared for. For a moment, the Eevee thought that maybe he’d gotten the wrong address, but after double-checking, it turned out to be the right one after all.

Izuku walked over to the door realized that it wasn’t locked, but not wanting to be impolite, he knocked. After waiting for a few minutes and not receiving an answer, he knocked again. Still nothing.

 _Maybe Gran Torino went out?_ Izuku thought. _If so I should probably wait for him outside… But then again, he could just be sleeping or busy and that’s why he’s not answering…_

Tentatively, Izuku opened the door and peeked inside. It was dark.

“Hello?” Izuku called “I’m Izuku Midoriya from UA High. I’m really looking forward to-”

As Izuku’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he suddenly noticed that there was a Hawlucha lying face-down on the floor in what appeared to be a massive pool of blood.

Horrified, Izuku screamed. “HOLY WHOA, HE’S DEAD!!!”

The Hawlucha then lifted his head “I’m alive.”

Izuku screamed again, this time from sheer relief. “HE’S ALIVE!!!”

“Whoopsie.” The Hawlucha laughed as he slowly got back on his feet and started wiping sticky red liquid off himself “I was carrying a nice big plate fries and ketchup when I tripped and fell down. Clumsy me!”

Izuku stared at the Hawlucha, who no doubt was Gran Torino. He was quite elderly (enough that he was carrying a cane), though that wasn’t very surprising, since this guy had been All Might’s teacher. He was also wearing his hero outfit, which was colored yellow and included a cape and a black domino mask.

“Who did you say you were, sonny?” Gran Torino asked.

“I’m Izuku Midoriya, from UA High School!”

Gran Torino cupped a claw around his ear “You’re who, now?”

“I’m Izuku Midoriya!” the Eevee said again, a little louder.

Gran Torino gave Izuku a vacant stare. “So, what’s your name, boy?”

Izuku had to resist the urge to groan. Fantastic. Turns out, Gran Torino had gone senile! How on earth was he supposed to teach Izuku now?!

“E-Excuse me for a moment. I need to make a phone call.” Izuku said as he set down his backpack and discreetly grabbed his phone.

 _I should let All Might know the state that this guy’s in, he’s not fit to mentor… the_ Eevee thought as he faced towards the still open door. Before he could click on any contacts, though, Izuku heard a shuffling sound right behind him, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Gran Torino was rummaging through his backpack.

“H-hey, that’s my stuff!” cried Izuku.

“Why don’t you fire up Extreme Evoboost and attack me?” Gran Torino asked without even turning to look at him, sounding completely different than before.

“H-huh?!”

“I want to know how far you’ve come in terms of handling its power.” Said Gran Torino, still looking at Izuku’s stuff “Your hero costume’s pretty nice, but where’s that attack?”

“But sir-!” Izuku tried to protest.

Gran Torino finally turned to look at him and… his stare was vacant once again.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” asked the elder.

Izuku couldn’t take it anymore. What the heck was this guy’s deal?!

“Look, I’m here because I need to learn how to control Extreme Evoboost.” Said Izuku in the most stern tone he could muster “I don’t know how much time All Might has left as a hero, so I need to get stronger fast. I’m sorry, but I can’t waste my whole week messing around like this, sir, so I hope you’ll excuse me.”

“…As I thought.” Gran Torino was suddenly back to being lucid and focused. The Hawlucha stood up straight, took a deep breath and, to Izuku’s complete shock, started to ricochet all over the place before finally planting himself just atop the entrance door.

“It’s time for you to show me what you can do, ya newbie.” Gran Torino said, a wily grin on his face.

Izuku could only stare at the Hawlucha with a mix of awe and anxiety. With how fast this guy moved, did he even need a cane?!

“I watched the way you fought at the Sports Festival!” said Gran Torino “The way you used your power was unthinkable! All Might’s clearly not training you well: for all that he’s the Symbol of Peace and the #1 hero, that obviously doesn’t translate to him being a good teacher! I can’t stand to watch you use your Quirk in such a self-destructive way, so I suppose I’ll have to mentor you instead. Now, hurry and get your costume on so we can begin!”

Izuku smiled and nodded. Finally!

“Teach me everything!” said the Eevee “I’m ready!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick addendum that I initially forgot to put on the notes is that some characters have different hero names compared to canon. Examples include Ojiro and Satou, who simply change the "man" in their hero names to "mon", since in this world the latter term is a substitute for the former and is meant as a diminutive for "Pokémon". A hero name change that is wholly different, though, is Koda, since he has a completely different power to canon for obvious reasons (here he controls plants with his voice, but I haven't had the chance to write this into the adaptation yet), so instead of being The Petting Hero: Anima, here he's called The Gardening Hero: Plantae.


	16. Full Cowl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training continues

When Izuku put on his repaired costume, he noticed that the Support Department had made several alterations to its design, such as darkening the green, changing the white highlights to black, and changing the material of the mouthpiece from plastic to metal. While he was a little peeved at this -the changes had been done without his permission, after all- he wasn’t all that surprised; knowing how Hatsume acted during the Sports Festival, her doing alterations on a whim was totally in character. At least it was still faithful to the base design, which was perfect: the original costume had been a gift from his mom, so Izuku wanted to keep it as close to her design as possible.

“Okay kid,” Gran Torino said as soon as Izuku was suited up “show me a smash.”

“I-I don’t think it’s a good idea…” Izuku stuttered “I’ve never used this suit before… besides, a full-powered smash would hurt you badly and-”

“My, my, you’re quite the chatterbox, aren’t ya!” Gran Torino laughed, then he took a deep breath and began ricocheting all over the place again.

“I’m losing patience!” cried the elderly Hawlucha as he delivered a kick to Izuku from behind that knocked the Eevee off his feet and sent him tumbling across the floor.

Gran Torino kept jumping and speeding past Izuku, not seeming to care in the slightest that he was wrecking his own home. Izuku staggered to his feet, wincing slightly at how much the elder hero’s blow had hurt.

“I can’t believe that you’re the ninth holder of that great power! Has All Might even taught you _anything_ at all?” Gran Torino taunted Izuku, clearly trying to goad the youngster into activating his power.

Another kick, and Izuku found himself on the floor again.

 _He’s too fast!_ He thought desperately as he got back up again. _How does his Quirk work-_

Gran Torino slammed into him a third time. Izuku looked around desperately; with Gran Torino bouncing and jumping on every direction, there was nowhere to hide. Izuku tried to concentrate, follow the Hawlucha’s movements…

 _There!_ Izuku spun around as Gran Torino prepared to smack into him from behind again, jumped, and activated Extreme Evoboost to counter. However, Gran Torino effortlessly avoided Izuku’s swipe and swiftly pinned the Eevee to the ground.

“That was a nice try, newbie.” Said Gran Torino “Your movements are stiff, though, and there’s clearly discord in your mind. That’s why I bested you.”

“I thought for sure my attack was gonna land…” Izuku groaned under his breath.

“Listen to me, kid, the way you use Extreme Evoboost shows that you understand its fundamentals. However, your admiration to All Might is a shackle to your progress in mastering it.” Gran Torino said as he allowed Izuku so stand up.

“A shackle? What does that mean?” Izuku asked.

“What I mean is,” Gran Torino crossed his arms “you think Extreme Evoboost is more special than it really is.”

Izuku thought that was a weird thing to say: Extreme Evoboost was by far the most unique Quirk in existence due to its ability to be passed on! No other Quirk could do that, as far as anyone knew. _And_ it’s the power that allowed All Might to become the greatest hero in the world! As far as Izuku was concerned, that was pretty freaking special…

“You’ve got a look of skepticism…” Gran Torino noted “It’s a bit disappointing, but I guess it’s to be expected of someone like you.”

Gran Torino then grabbed his cane and headed for the door “I’ll go buy us some grub. In the meantime, think over what I said about your inherited Quirk. Oh, and please clean up this mess too.”

And with that, Izuku was left all alone in that old, trashed apartment.

 _My admiration for All Might is a shackle… and I think Extreme Evoboost is more special than it is…_ Izuku mentally repeated Gran Torino’s words.

In addition to his statements about All Might and Extreme Evoboost, Gran Torino had also said that Izuku’s movements were stiff, which to be fair was not an untrue statement: Izuku could only really use his power as a last resort due to the strain it put on his body, so of course he’d be slow with it… wait, last resort…

Izuku could practically hear the lightbulb going on inside his head, and he felt extremely stupid for not realizing it sooner: sure, Extreme Evoboost might be unique among Quirks due to its ability to be passed on, but aside from that it adhered to every other Quirk rule, including the part about Quirks being extension of a Pokémon’s body, except… Izuku had been using Extreme Evoboost like a special move, when what he needed to do was think of it as a part of him!

Unfortunately, Izuku didn’t get a chance to test his Quirk with this new mentality, since Gran Torino felt tired after eating lunch and sent himself and Izuku to an early bedtime.

Izuku tossed and turned in the makeshift nest Gran Torino had prepared for him out of old pillows and blankets. The elderly Hawlucha was snoring peacefully atop a perch in the opposite corner of the room. It was already the middle of the night, but Izuku hadn’t been able to so much as close his eyes the entire time.

Quietly, Izuku climbed out of his nest and went for a night walk, hoping to find a secluded place to train. He soon found an alleyway between two tallish buildings. Perfect.

_I’ll try to jump to the roof… Five percent should be enough…_

Izuku took a deep breath and concentrated, feeling as Extreme Evoboost coursed through his hind limbs and jumped. Izuku was elated to discover that for the first time ever, using his Quirk didn’t break his bones… but then he smacked face-first into the wall. Lucky there were trash bags below to cushion his fall.

 _Okay, I imagined that would happen…_ Izuku thought as he lay among the trash wincing in pain. He was pretty sure he had a nosebleed from the impact.

Izuku got up and made another jump, this time trying to alternate Extreme Evoboost between his front and hind limbs as he reached the wall. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough and ended up hitting the wall again.

Okay, then, third time’s the charm! Except when it isn’t.

One more time, one more fail. Lather, rinse, repeat until morning...

* * *

“Holy smokes, kid, what happened to you?!” Gran Torino exclaimed when Izuku returned to the apartment “You look like you lost a fight with a dumpster!”

“You’re not that far off, actually…” Izuku groaned. He was aching all over from repeatedly slamming himself against walls, and because his only cushion for the repeated falls had been garbage bags, he could only imagine how filthy he was right now. The young Eevee certainly felt like trash, seeing how he’d been completely unable to clear even a simple series of jumps despite trying over and over throughout the night.

“Ah, I see.” Gran Torino scratched his chin “You were trying to train on your own during the night, weren’t you?”

Izuku nodded “I tried to apply what you said to me yesterday. I did at least manage to figure out to activate Extreme Evoboost at 5%, so now I can use it without hurting myself, but beyond that I still have a long way to go…”

“Eh, don’t worry too much,” Gran Torino reassured him “you did make some progress and that counts for something even if it doesn’t seem like a lot. Besides, it’s your first time using your power like this, so it’s natural that you wouldn’t get it right away. That’s how training normally works, after all. Of course, All Might probably can’t wrap his head around that because he got the hang of Extreme Evoboost almost immediately after he received it. I taught him in a very different manner as a result.”

“Wow, All Might as a student!” Izuku geeked out “What was he like?”

“Well, with him I focused purely on combat training.” Said Gran Torino, who then chuckled as he was reminiscing “I must have beaten him up like a million times! Of course, it’s not like I could hold back: even at your age, All Might was quite a bit more muscular than you are, _and_ he was already fully evolved as well.”

Izuku felt a chill run down his back. Gran Torino beat up _All Might_?! No wonder the Jolteon was scared of him!

Then the Hawlucha sighed as his expression turned sad “Of course, physical strength was not the only reason I couldn’t afford to hold back. A dear friend of mine who entrusted All Might to me had just passed away, so he had to learn to become a good fighter fast.”

“Oh, you mean All Might’s predecessor?” Izuku asked, his curiosity piqued “Can you tell me anything about him?”

Before Gran Torino could answer, though, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” said Izuku as he rushed to the door.

“Package delivery!” said the Pelipper at the door as soon as Izuku opened it.

The package turned out to be a new microwave oven, since Gran Torino had accidentally wrecked his old one during yesterday’s spar.

“So, whadda say, kiddo, let’s heat up some of that frozen food I bought!” said Gran Torino as he set up the new microwave.

“But all you bought was dessert.” Izuku pointed out.

“What can I say,” Gran Torino laughed “I like the _sweeter_ things in life!”

“But we ate the same thing yesterday!” Izuku protested “Besides, isn’t that much sugar kinda unhealthy?”

“Oh, pish-posh, I’ve got a great metabolism!” Gran Torino said dismissively “Besides, with all the training we’re gonna do, we’ll burn off all those calories anyway.”

Oh well. Izuku put a few of the taiyakis Gran Torino had bought on a plate and heated them up in the oven. Throughout the process, though, Izuku couldn’t stop thinking about how little he’d progressed with Extreme Evoboost and how the rest of his peers had had basically their entire childhoods to adjust to their Quirks while Izuku had received his only a few months ago, meaning playing catch-up was gonna be an especially difficult game.

“Ah, don’t look so glum, boy!” said Gran Torino as Izuku set the plate of heated taiyakis on the table “Just focus on breakfast for now!”

Gran Torino grabbed a taiyaki and bit onto it, only to discover that it was still frozen.

“Augh! You idiot! You stuck a huge plate in the microwave, didn’t you?!” Gran Torino snapped at Izuku as he threw the taiyaki back onto the plate. “You shouldn’t do that! A plate that’s too big won’t have enough room to turn, so only one part of the food will heat up!”

“S-sorry!” said Izuku “The one we have at home isn’t the turning type, so I didn’t know…”

Izuku trailed off as he suddenly realized something.

“I’VE GOT IT!” he cried “The taiyaki is me!”

Gran Torino shot him a weirded-out look “…oh great, the ninth holder of Extreme Evoboost thinks he’s a dessert now. Kid, are you alright?”

“Oh, I don’t mean it literally!” said Izuku “It’s just… I know now what I must do! Up until now I’ve only been summoning Extreme Evoboost in the places I need it, like flipping a switch on and off. Except, by doing that my reaction time gets slower and my movements stiff, just like you said! So that means…” Izuku proceeded to activate Extreme Evoboost as he said his next words “I should leave the switch on! Let the power course through my entire body!”

Gran Torino smiled “Good, you’ve figured it out. Though the analogy of a taiyaki in a microwave is both boring and kinda dumb.”

“That’s okay.” Said Izuku as his body glowed and crackled with lightning from the surge of power “As long as it works…”

“Tell me kid, can you move in that state?” Gran Torino asked.

“I’m not sure.” Izuku admitted.

“Well, wanna give it a try?” said Gran Torino as he adopted a fighting stance.

Izuku grinned “Yes! Let’s do this!”

“Very well.” Gran Torino nodded “Let’s start with three minutes. That’s the amount of time you have to try and hit me.”

And just like he’d done yesterday, the Hawlucha started ricocheting all over the room again before delivering a kick to Izuku, making him lose focus, and the surge of Extreme Evoboost’s power went away.

“Pathetic!” cried Gran Torino as he continued to bounce from surface to surface “If you can’t even hold your own against an old fart like me, how do you expect to protect those who are in need? You were chosen by the Symbol of Peace, for crying out loud! You should be able to clear this challenge easily!”

Grunting with frustration, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost again, only for Gran Torino to strike him again, making the power dissipate... again.

 _He’s too fast! And I need some time to get my Quirk going through my body again!_ Izuku realized as he was repeatedly smacked around.

Seeing no other choice, Izuku darted underneath a nearby sofa to use as cover so he could power up.

“Trying to buy time, eh?” said Gran Torino “It won’t work!”

Here he comes… Izuku braced himself and then, using a quick Extreme Evoboost burst, kicked the sofa with all his might, sending it flying into a stunned Gran Torino, who barely managed to get out of the way.

Thankfully, the whole stint had bought Izuku just enough time to get Extreme Evoboost running, so now that he had a chance, the Eevee jumped to meet Gran Torino in mid-air.

Izuku swung a paw, which Gran Torino dodged. Izuku landed on all fours.

“Almost!” the Hawlucha said as he prepared to attack from behind again.

This time, Izuku was prepared, and instead of countering Gran Torino’s kick, Izuku jumped upwards, moving out of the way, and getting into position to attack from above.

But once again, Gran Torino avoided Izuku’s swipe -though this time barely- and sent the Eevee crashing back-first into a wall with a kick.

“Time’s up.” Said Gran Tosino as he landed.

Groaning from the pain, Izuku sat up. It was hard to keep Extreme Evoboost going through his body! And then there was the charge-up time too.

 _I still have a lot of work to do…_ Izuku thought, frustrated at his own slow progress.

“Well done, kid. You managed to land a hit on me while I had my guard down. You’ve got good quick thinking.” Said Gran Torino, surprising Izuku.

“But I didn’t land-” Izuku began before he suddenly noticed that Gran Torino had a faint scratch mark on his left cheek.

 _Wait… I did that?!_ Izuku was stunned.

The old Hawlucha smiled “You’ve grown a lot since yesterday. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to seriously dodge an attack. Once you’ve mastered your Quirk, you’re going to become a serious powerhouse.”

Surprised by the praise, Izuku couldn’t do much more than blink.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time!” said Gran Torino “Let’s keep training!”

Izuku hastily stood up, feeling slightly lightheaded as he did so “Yeah! What’s next, sir?”

“Well, first I want you to head upstairs to the bedroom and get a good rest.” Said Gran Torino as he grabbed his cane “You obviously didn’t sleep at all last night, and a tired body can’t train properly.”

Izuku tried to protest, but now that he wasn’t jumping around like crazy, fatigue suddenly caught up with him and hit him with the force of a ton of bricks. Huh, so that’s what the lightheadedness was. Izuku yawned.

“See? What did I tell you?” said Gran Torino as he urged Izuku upstairs “You need to rest.”

Even as his eyes drooped, though, Izuku still wanted to continue training, but he was too exhausted to even argue at this point, so he let Gran Torino half-carry, half-tug him into the bedroom.

 _I wonder what I should call this new method of using Extreme Evoboost_ , Izuku thought as he buried himself in the comfortable sheets, _I think… Full Cowl. Yeah, that’s a good name. The first step to making Extreme Evoboost my own._

* * *

The Eevee was sound asleep pretty much as soon as he plopped into his nest.

Sorahiko watched the small greenish bundle of fur rising and falling with each breath and couldn’t help but smile to himself. This Izuku Midoriya kid might not have taken to Extreme Evoboost like Toshinori did, but he managed to make up for that somewhat with good forward thinking and analytical skills, which was especially impressive considering the obviously limited knowledge Izuku Midoriya had on his Quirk or its past users.

_You found a good one, huh, Toshinori… or should I say, All Might._

That said, the boy’s limited knowledge on Extreme Evoboot was fairly worrying for Sorahiko: the fact that Midoriya had thought Nana Shimura was male meant he clearly didn’t even know her name! That bumbling Jolteon was barely telling his pupil anything!

Sorahiko sighed as he made his way back to the kitchen to reheat his delicious taiyakis. Next time he and Toshinori talked, the old Hawlucha was going to give him the verbal beating of his life for being such a lousy mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to let Midoriya have a nap because I don't think he slept at all after training all night in canon and I thought it'd be nice for him to get some actual rest. Working without sleep is bad for you, people. Seriously, don't do it.
> 
> P.S. Gran Torino's Quirk is Acrobatics


	17. On the Road to Hosu City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of dumb decisions are made.

Chizome quietly surveyed Hosu city, the site of his latest warning to the world. A warning that, time and time again, society had stubbornly ignored.

It made the Bisharp’s blood boil. The world had forgotten the true meaning of the word “hero”, and as a result had become overrun with fakes and wannabes who were only in it for the money or the glory. There was only one hero left that was truly worthy of being called such: All Might.

Then, Chizome felt a presence behind him.

Without even turning around to look at his would-be attacker, Chizome stabbed at them with his blade-like hand.

“Calm down.” Said a deep voice that didn’t sound at all like it had just been stabbed “My allies and I just want to have a talk with you, Hero Killer.”

Chizome turned around and saw a Spiritomb looking down at him.

“What kind of talk?” the Bisharp said cautiously.

“Just come with me.” Said the Spiritomb as he opened what appeared to be a portal from his own wisplike body. So that’s how he’d snuck up on Chizome!

The Bisharp was skeptical, but he was confident enough on his skills that he figured that if this was a trap, he could get out of it easily. Might as well see what this is about.

The Spiritomb teleported Chizome to what appeared to be a bar. There was barely any light, and the only Pokémon inside was the most disheveled-looking Grimmsnarl Chizomi had ever laid eyes on. On top of white hair so matted and dirty it looked straight up ashen grey, the Grimmsnarl also wore a hand of another of his kind as a mask, which Chizomi assumed was meant to be intimidating, but to him it just looked gross and even somewhat silly; it was like this guy had a perpetual facepalm.

“Tomura Shigaraki, our guest.” The Spiritomb said with a bow.

“Ah, so this is the infamous Hero Killer Stain.” The Grimmsnarl said with a soft, raspy voice. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Yes, I’ve been told.” Chizomi said dryly. “Your cloudy friend here didn’t tell me what you want me for, so now that I’m here I expect a straightforward answer.”

“Of course,” said Shigaraki as he stood up and walked towards a TV at the end of the room “but first, I need to show you this.”

Shigaraki turned the TV on and loud triumphant music began to play as a stadium came into view. A recording of the world-famous UA Sports Festival, Chizomi realized. Now he was intrigued: maybe this was all about showing how young future “heroes” were indoctrinated by the irresponsible adults around them into becoming blights on society. Getting to the root of the problem. That was a good start.

“I want you to keep an eye on this one over here.” Shigaraki pointed at one of the students, an Eevee with distinctive greenish, messy fur.

Chizomi nodded, but admittedly kept just as much of an eye on the Eevee as he did the rest of the teenage Pokémon participating in this event. Might as well find out which ones to weed out ahead of time.

The Sports Festival was an incredibly predictable affair, what with it being a competition where impressionable children were encouraged to trample over each other to get to the top. This was exactly the kind of thing that had created the current plague of fakes! It was sickening.

During the first competition, which was a race, Chizomi’s sight was drawn to a Pansage student who had used his power to latch on to a Delibird’s back. The Delibird made multiple fruitless attempts to shake him off before finally giving up and simply continue racing with her new burden in tow. Chizomi gritted his teeth upon realizing that the Pansage didn’t latch onto that Delibird merely to cheat on the race: he was groping her. Just, grabbing her butt in full view of the camera. The Delibird was clearly uncomfortable with the whole ordeal, and she hit him several times, but the wretched monkey kept at his groping throughout the entire race. Why wasn’t anyone doing anything about this blatant display of sexual harassment?! While the students _might_ be given a pass for not noticing due to all the chaos they had to deal with, the adults in charge had no excuse whatsoever to not step in and put a stop to it. Society had become so corrupted that someone as disgusting as this Pansage was considered promising hero material?! Ugh. One more for the hitlist, it seems.

Anyways, the Eevee that Shigaraki had singled out ended up winning the first event, though unlike every other participant, he managed to do so without resorting to his Quirk. Chizomi found that very strange at first, but the Eevee’s reason for not using his power became clear when it was time for the tournament round of the festival; turns out, the Eevee had one of the most self-destructive Quirks Chizomi had ever seen, what with it appearing to shatter the Eevee’s bones with every use. That said, the Quirk was indeed an impressively powerful one, as it allowed its user to create massive gusts of wind pressure and shatter massive glaciers with a single flick of a paw.

It was during the Eevee’s match against a Hybrid Vulpix that Shigaraki finally paused the video.

“That should be enough.” He said, “You probably have a good grasp on this little brat’s power now.”

Chizomi frowned. “Yeah, I guess. But why are you so fixated on that Eevee?”

“ _That Eevee_ is the reason we called you here.” Said Shigaraki “I want to destroy anything that pisses me off, and that brat is just one of many things that I can’t stand.”

Chizomi glared at the Grimmsnarl. These guys had used a recording of the Sports festival, which was packed to the brim with useful information on the flaws of the current hero society, and yet they were wasting it on focusing on one single Pokémon child?! How pointless.

“I was a fool to think you could offer me anything. Turns out you’re the type of Pokémon I hate most in this world!”

Shigaraki was taken aback. “What are you talking about? You and I are the same.”

Chizomi furiously shook his head. “You claim you want to destroy that child because he makes you angry. But do you have an _actual_ reason why he makes you angry?”

“Of course I do!” Shigaraki snapped “He interfered with our attempt to kill All Might.”

“Ah, I see.” said Chizomi, masking his increasingly boiling anger “You’re the ones who attacked UA. Tell me, do you have a reason for wanting to kill All Might?”

“I hate him!” cried Shigaraki “He pisses me off!”

“…That’s it, really? He just ‘pisses you off’?” Chizomi looked Shigaraki straight in the eye “You’re nothing but a spoiled overgrown brat without any real goals beyond the fact that you just feel like doing crazy shit for the hell of it!”

The Bisharp adopted a fighting stance, reading his arm blades. “Killing is meaningless if you don’t have any convictions to back it up!”

“Sensei, should I step in?” the Spiritomb asked the TV, with only the barest hint of alarm in his voice.

“Let it happen.” Answered a voice from the TV, which was suddenly no longer displaying any video and had shifted to a sound-only mode. “This might teach Tomura a valuable lesson. He needs to think of ways in which he must grow.”

An intense fight between the two Dark-types broke out. Shigaraki turned out to have a strange power that allowed him to turn anything he touched to dust, as Chizomi had found out when the Grimmsnarl disintegrated a stool where Chizomi had been standing moments before. So yeah, Shigaraki’s Quirk made him a tricky opponent, but Chizomi was too fast for him. Eventually, the Bisharp managed to corner the Grimmsnarl and pinned him to the floor.

“You want me to be a part of your pathetic, crumbling little league.” Chizomi spat out “But you will never accomplish anything without strong motivations and desires. Without those, you will never be anything more than an aimless weakling.”

“Ugh… Kurogiri!” a bleeding Shigaraki addressed his Spiritomb partner “Take this jerk back!”

“I’m-I’m sorry…” said Kurogiri “The Hero Killer somehow managed to land a slash on me and for some reason I can’t move… it must be his Quirk!”

“…Dammit Kurogiri, could you be _any_ more disappointing right now?” growled Shigaraki.

“The word ‘hero’ has lost all meaning.” Said Chizomi, not taking his sight off Shigaraki “The world has been overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams. You must all be purged.”

But just as Chizomi was about to slice at Shigaraki’s throat, the Grimmsnarl suddenly grabbed him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He said, “You know very well what will happen to you if you touch me.”

Chizomi quickly pulled away, not wanting his arm to crumble to dust.

“You sure like to talk a lot, Hero Killer.” Shigaraki said with a faint chuckle “Conviction? Maybe I don’t have something as loaded as that. This world worships trash like All Might, so I will kill their beloved Symbol of Peace and then crush them while they’re in shock! Who are you to call my goals shallow, Hero Killer?”

Shigaraki then tried to grab Chizomi’s face, but the Bisharp quickly jumped back.

“Damn… the last of my injuries from our attack at UA was finally healing and now I get this.” Shigaraki groaned as he examined his bleeding shoulder, he then shot Chizomi a glare “You should be more careful, Hero Killer. No one in our group has any healing Quirks.”

Shigaraki then started to frantically scratch his own neck, something that was quite uncomfortable to watch, seeing what his hands could do to anything he touched.

The way that the Grimmsnarl was staring at him right now made Chizomi flinch. Okay, so this guy was a bit scarier than Chizomi had initially thought. Whatever. He was still just an emotionally stunted spoiled brat.

“I see your nature.” Said the Bisharp “It seems our goals fundamentally oppose each other. However, this wasn’t in vain; we both agree that the present needs to change, even if we have to destroy it for that to happen.”

“I’m tired of this. Just leave already.” Said Shigaraki “I’m the kind of Pokémon you hate most, right? You’ve got no business with the League of Villains.”

“Oh, I am leaving alright.” Said Chizomi “But first I must warn you that even though I’m letting you off the hook now, that’s only because I see potential in you to develop a real conviction, so I want to see how your desires bloom. If I think you’re in the wrong path, though, know that I _will_ eliminate you.”

“I-I can move again?” said Kurogiri as he marveled at his own wisplike body.

“Good.” Said Chizomi, licking his lips “Just in time for you to take me back to Hosu. There are still several false heroes there that I must take care of.”

* * *

Once Stain was finally gone, Tomura was still enraged. He’d just been shown up and humiliated again! And this time by some small-time serial killer who on top of everything had accused him of not having “good enough” motivations! Tomura scratched his neck. Just who did that stupid Hero Killer think he was?! Tomura wanted to pay him back for what he’d done.

“Sensei.” He said, turning to the TV “How many Type: Nulls have been completed?”

“I’ve finished adjusting the behavior of six of them.” Said Sensei “Unfortunately, they’re not as strong as the one you took to UA.”

“That’s fine, just give them to me.” Tomura hissed.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like that arrogant Hero Killer!” Tomura snapped “And it’s my right to destroy anything that I don’t like! You said so yourself, Sensei!”

“So I did…” Sensei sounded pleased “very well, you can have your Type: Nulls, but I will only give you three of them. Try to use this as a learning experience.”

“Pardon me, Tomura Shigaraki,” Said Kurogiri as he snaked beside the Grimmsnarl “but are you planning to sick the Type: Nulls on the Hero Killer?”

Tomura shook his head “Oh no, that would be way too simple. The Hero Killer called our League of Villains pathetic, didn’t he? Well, let’s see how pathetic he thinks we are when our Type: Nulls overshadow his latest assassination!”

* * *

When Minoru Mineta had chosen to intern under Mount Lady, he had not expected to have such a miserable time. It had already been several days since the internship started, but in all that time all that the Pansage had amounted to was being essentially a glorified servant. Mount Lady made him vacuum the floor, dust the windows, wash the dishes, clean the furniture, and so on.

Meanwhile, Mount Lady spent her time loafing around and stuffing her face with junk food. She claimed that finding ways to pass the time while waiting for a crime or disaster to happen was a useful hero skill, but who was she kidding? Literally anyone could longue about and do nothing!

And as bad as it was to be reduced to doing household chores for an internship, it was nothing compared to the horror Minoru felt at not getting to fondle some sweet Tsareena bod despite it being so close to his reach! Because really, what was the point of interning under such a sexy female Pokémon hero without getting to enjoy her best assets?

“Hey kid, you missed a spot.” Said Mount Lady as she lied on the couch and pointed to a corner in the other side of the room Minoru had been vacuuming.

The Pansage grumbled under his breath as he tugged the heavy vacuum cleaner to the spot Mount Lady had indicated.

“You know, when I said that I was glad to be your humble servant, this is not what I meant.” Minoru muttered.

“Oh hey, and when you’re done with that can you go to the store and buy some chips?” Mount Lady called out to him “We just ran out.”

Furious, Minoru threw the vacuum cleaner on the floor. That does it, this is NOT the kind of roleplay he was hoping for!

Suddenly, Minoru got an idea.

“You know something, Mount Lady?” he said “I chose to intern under you because I was under the impression that you were a cool and awesome hero. I mean, your Dynamax is probably the most overpowered Quirk there is! All you need to do to win a fight is stomp on any villains that you come across!”

That did the trick. Mount Lady came running towards him and squeezed Minoru’s cheeks.

“You know what, kid?” she said “You’re absolutely right! I _can_ beat basically every villain with just a stomp! In fact, pack your bags, ‘cause we’re going on a trip to hunt down a very special villain!”

Minoru’s heart skipped a beat. Oh no. No, no, no, this was bad. The flattery had worked a little _too_ well.

“Hey, wait a second-” Minoru tried to protest, but Mount Lady just squeezed his face harder with excitement.

“No, we have no time to wait!” cried the Tsareena “Hosu City, here we come!”

* * *

When Tenya had received offers for internships, the one that had caught his eye was Manual’s agency, which happened to be located in Hosu City, where his brother had been attacked. As a result, Tenya’s choice was a rather easy one.

“You know, I still can’t believe that Ingenium’s little brother is interning at _my_ agency! You must have gotten way better offers than mine.” said the Golduck as he took off his helmet.

It had been a long day of patrol, and Tenya had made sure to keep an open eye for signs of the villain who had maimed Tensei. So far, though, nothing. Tenya had looked at the Hero Killer’s previous crimes, and in each city where he struck, he always maimed or killed at least four pro-heroes, and Tenya had been the only one attacked in Hosu so far, which meant that unless Stain had decided to change his pattern all of a sudden, he still had to be roaming Hosu.

“Hey, Tenya, I’ve been meaning to ask you. You’re looking for the Hero Killer, right?”

Manual’s question caught the young Lucario off guard. “H-how did you-?”

“Well, I just couldn’t think of any other reason why you would want to intern at my agency.” Manual said with a light chuckle “Don’t get me wrong, I’m super glad that you did, but…” the Golduck’s expression turned serious “you shouldn’t be pursuing personal grudges. We heroes don’t have the authority to arrest other Pokémon or punish them; the only reason we’re even allowed to use our Quirks is because of the regulations put on them. That’s why, no matter how noble the reason may be, a hero must not use their Quirk for themselves.”

And that was the end of that. Tenya knew that Manual was right, but… he couldn’t ignore his hateful feelings either. If nobody else was going to stop the Hero Killer, then why not Tenya?

 _I will find him, and I WILL defeat him._ Tenya thought.

* * *

Once he was well-rested, Izuku got right back to training with Gran Torino. Their sparring sessions were pretty repetitive: Izuku had a set amount of time to try and hit the old Hawlucha while trying to maintain Extreme Evoboost flowing throughout his body and being careful to keep it at 5%, because any higher than that would damage his body.

Izuku crouched down as Gran Torino jumped across the room and, following the Hawulucha’s movements, readied a strike. However, just like in their first spar with Izuku using Full Cowl, Gran Torino ended the fight by sensing the young Eevee flying back-first into a wall with a kick.

“Hmm, we should switch up your training.” Said Gran Torino as he stroked his chin “If you get too used fighting against my distinct battle style, you might develop some weird habits.”

“What habits?! I’m just trying to keep up with you right now!” cried Izuku as he got back on his feet. “Please, let me fight more!”

“Nope. We’re done here.” Said Gran Torino who then grinned “Put on your hero costume, boy. We’re moving on to phase two.”

Izuku had no idea why Gran Torino felt the need to move him on to phase two when he had yet to clear phase one, but the Eevee knew better than to argue, so without further ado, Izuku put on his costume and followed Gran Torino outside.

“Hope you’re ready, kiddo, because we’re off to fight villains!” said Gran Torino, pointing his cane up into the sky in a triumphant pose.

“What?!” cried Izuku “Just like that?!”

“Well, I alone can’t make a good training session for you.” Said Gran Torino as he beckoned Izuku to follow him “My fighting style is that of a speedster, so if I’m the only opponent you fight against you would only learn to counter one fighting style, which would in turn lead to problems when you have to fight against a Pokémon that’s my complete opposite. The key is to let you get experience with different types of villains and situations. Remember that this is still an internship, so you shouldn’t be that surprised.”

“I get what you’re saying, and I do agree, but I still think I need more time to prepare myself.” Said Izuku as he trailed behind the Hawlucha.

“Well, from what I’ve heard you’ve already faced off against real villains.” Said Gran Torino “And you still managed to hold your own despite not having control of your Quirk back then, so don’t worry, you’ll do fine. Besides, we’re not going after anyone too dangerous, just low-tier thugs and the like.”

“Oh.” Said Izuku “Um, and where are we going to find villains to fight?”

“Well, certainly not here.” Said Gran Torino “This area is not very highly populated, so the crime rates are pretty low. We’re taking a bullet train to Shinjuku; there should be plenty of small fights there to break up.”

Izuku was instantly consumed by nervousness “Wait, we’re going to _Shinjuku_?! I-I’m not so sure my hero costume is cool enough…”

“Nah, kid, your costume’s fine.” Said Gran Torino “It tells everyone that you’re a hero. Wear it with pride.”

“Hm.” Izuku nodded half-heartedly. It had just occurred to him that by taking a train to Shinjuku, he and Gran Torino would pass through Hosu city, where Iida was interning.

 _I wonder how he’s doing,_ Izuku thought, _I should send a message to him later._

So Izuku did just that right after he and Gran Torino had boarded the train.

Gran Torino had deliberately picked a train that wouldn’t leave until late so that he and Izuku would arrive to Shinjuku at nighttime, when there would be more skirmishes to defuse. Izuku watched the cityscape through his window and realized that the train was almost at Hosu station. Izuku checked his phone and saw that although Iida had read his message, he hadn’t replied. This only made the Eevee even more worried for his friend.

Suddenly, the train came to an abrupt, screeching halt, and something came crashing into it. A strange creature that looked like a mishmash of several different species had been fighting against a Beartic pro-hero and was now pinning his unconscious body against the floor of the train.

Izuku’s eyes widened in horror. That mishmash creature… was Type: Null. Well, no, it _couldn’t_ be him, since last time Izuku had seen Type: Null he’d been taken into police custody. Not to mention that this guy looked slightly different: he was smaller and skinnier with longer limbs, not to mention he was a completely different, much lighter color. But the resemblance was still very much there, and it was too strong for it to be a coincidence. The rest of the passengers panicked and screamed.

“Kid, I want you to stay back!” cried Gran Torino before he jumped from his seat and tackled the Type: Null lookalike out of the train.

“Wait! Gran Torino!” Izuku cried as he ran to the massive gaping hole that the Type: Null lookalike had busted through the side of the train. That’s when the Eevee saw that a massive fire had broken out in the middle of Hosu city.

Izuku had to stifle a whimper. _Iida…_

“Hey, you!” Izuku called to a Flygon passenger, who gave him a scared look.

“Call an ambulance for that guy!” Izuku flicked his tail towards the unconscious Beartic pro.

The Flygon hesitated for a bit, as if still trying to process her shock, but ultimately nodded.

With that out of the way, Izuku now addressed the rest of the crowd “Everyone, please stay calm and don’t leave the train! I’m going after the villain who did this!”

And without further ado, Izuku jumped off the train and as fast as he could. He could hear several of the passengers calling out to him and telling him he was nuts for going after someone so scary, but Izuku ignored them against his better judgement. He had to help Gran Torino and Iida.

 _Alright_ , Izuku said to himself, _time to put Extreme Evoboost: Full Cowl to the test._

Izuku charged up Extreme Evoboost and jumped. Izuku soars gracefully through the sky and sticks a landing on a building’s roof. _Gran Torino… please be okay!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I managed to shove a Flygon into this, however dumb and minor the part turned out to be :P


	18. Local Serial Killer Throws Hands with a Bunch of Teenagers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the title says. Mineta in particular gets the living tar beaten out of him.

Izuku ran opposite to the crowd of panicked civilians coming from the center of the chaos. His heartbeat was racing, and not just because he was running at full sprint; if this Type: Null lookalike was as strong as Type: Null himself, there was no telling the kind of damage he would cause. If the fire was any indication, he already had. Gran Torino had no idea how much trouble he was.

“Tenya! Where are you?”

Izuku skidded to a stop. Someone had called for his friend. The Eevee followed the voice into an alleyway, which lead him to a street where more mayhem was awaiting. Two more Type: Null lookalikes, one of which was larger than the one back at the train -but still not quite as big as the original Type: Null- and lacked eyes, and a second much more lithe one that sported vaguely Swoobat-like wings for flight. The two Type: Nulls were rampaging about, causing property damage. More fires broke out. Dozens of pro-heroes were at the scene trying to fight off the creatures.

Izuku watched as a Golduck pro-hero stepped forward to smother the fires with his Water Pulse Quirk and gasped. This Golduck was Manual, the pro that Iida was interning with. But where was Iida?

“Darn it, Tenya!” Izuku heard Manual cry out in a mix of worry and frustration “Why did you run off by yourself?”

Izuku could practically feel his brain suddenly halting at what he had just heard. _Iida_ had run off? Strict, authority-respecting, rules-stickler Iida? That didn’t sound like him at all!

“You’re in the way, kid! Get out of here!” a pro-hero Cincinno stood in front of him protectively. “We can hold these things back on our own, you just evacuate with everyone else!”

“R-right, sorry!” said Izuku, only slightly backing away. He knew he should obey the pro-hero’s orders immediately, but his mind was racing thinking about his friend. The Eevee couldn’t believe that Iida would just take off running during such a big crisis… unless…

No. No way that he- yes, Izuku had had his suspicions, but he didn’t think _Iida_ of all Pokémon would actually do something that reckless! Least of all during a situation like this! Would he? The Eevee turned around and practically fled the scene, his heart racing as it filled with dread.

 _Alright, focus. If Iida really went off to find the Hero Killer, where would be the best place to find them?_ Izuku had read a few snippets on the Hero Killer before, and he remembered that his attacks usually occurred in isolated alleyways. But Hosu city was infested with those! And searching each of them one by one was just impractical.

Then Izuku had another idea. Iida’s scent! An Eevee’s nose was of course nowhere near as good at sniffing out scent trails as, say, a Houndour’s or a Growlithe’s noses, but it could still do the job. Besides, Izuku had been around Iida just enough to know what his distinctive scent was like, so all he needed to do was try to identify it amidst the many scents of the city and follow its trail.

Izuku could only hope his nose would be able to keep up with Full Cowl, because he needed to hurry.

* * *

It was official. This was the worst internship EVER. From it starting with doing menial household chores to going too far in boosting Mount Lady’s ego to the point that she felt herself capable of taking on the _Hero Killer_ of all Pokémon, Minoru never imagined that his decision to pick internship based on what his “little head”, so to speak, thought would land him in this much trouble.

Mount Lady had devised a plan to lure the Hero Killer into an open street so she could squish him with a stomp from her Dynamaxed form, but that was halted y the sudden fires and explosions that had broken out. Ironically, it was right after the duo had given up on searching for the Hero Killer that the villainous Bisharp happened to find them. Well, okay, no, he’d found Minoru first, as Mount Lady had sent him into an alleyway -where most of the villain’s attacks occurred- to search for him and hopefully goad him into a chase.

 _“You’re small and nimble!”_ Mount Lady had said _“And if you bounce off your Sticky Barbs you’ll become even faster! No way he’ll catch you!”_

She had been SO WRONG. The Hero Killer had quickly cornered Minoru, making him shriek for help. Mount Lady, to her credit, hadn’t hesitated to run into the alleyway to his rescue, even though she wouldn’t be able to use her Quirk in such a tight space.

Well, long story short, the Hero Killer had beaten them both effortlessly; he was pinning Minoru into the ground, and the Pansage couldn’t break free no matter how hard he squirmed and struggled. As for Mount Lady, she was lying behind them, unmoving, but strangely not unconscious. It was as if she had been completely paralyzed.

“This must be my lucky day,” said the Bisharp as he nonchalantly held Minoru down “you two may not be the ones I was on the hunt for, but I guess it’s a good thing I have the chance to rid society of the both of you sooner than later, since you two are even better examples of fake heroes than my original target.”

“Please!” Mount Lady called out to him “Leave my intern alone! He’s only a kid!”

The Hero Killer scoffed at her “You’re talking as though I’m about to kill an innocent child? Don’t tell me you’re actually so stupid that you didn’t realize why this little piece of shit chose to intern under you, a shameless glory-seeker who also just happens to be conventionally attractive.”

The Bisharp turned his attention back to Minoru and gave him a contemptuous glare “I saw the way you acted at that Sports Festival you pathetic, perverted creep. The way you groped a female student, no shame nor remorse whatsoever. I can already tell that you’re only aiming for a career in heroism just because you think female Pokémon will reward you with favors for it, don’t you? The fact that you expect female Pokémon to automatically like you despite you having no respect for them whatsoever is almost hilarious. Almost.”

Minoru winced at the accusation. Yes, the Hero Killer had correctly guessed the Pansage’s motivations, but why was he saying that he didn’t respect female Pokémon? Didn’t the fact that he was constantly ogling them mean that he respected them a lot? Besides, what right did the hero Killer have to call Minoru a creep for it? He was a _villain_!

The Hero Killer glowered “Lucky for you -and everyone else, really- I have a way of remedying your little libido problem _permanently_.”

The Hero Killer suddenly stabbed Minoru in the face hard enough to draw blood and making the Pansage start wailing.

“But first, I need you to hold still for a bit.” Then the Hero Killer licked his hand, and suddenly Minoru couldn’t move. “Now, time for the purging to begin.”

The Hero Killer stood up, walked over to Mount Lady, and dragged her next to Minoru.

“A fake hero that’s only in it for fame and glory and steals credit from other pros.” Said the Bisharp as he raised his bladelike arms into the air and aimed for his victims’ hearts “A future fake hero that’s only in it because he hopes to get something out of it from females. I’ll give you both this; you two do make a good mentor-intern pair based on shallow motives alone. Bonus: I get to purge society of a fake hero before he even becomes one!”

Minoru and Mount Lady were still unable to move a muscle and could only watch in fear as the Hero Killer’s arm blades descended upon them.

Suddenly, the Hero Killer halted his attack to turn around and swing his bladelike arms onto an oncoming attacker that had made a noisy entrance.

* * *

The second Tenya had spotted suspicious activity in an alleyway, he had run off to confront it. He knew he shouldn’t leave Manual’s side, especially since they had just been called for a crisis, but at the same time, the young Lucario couldn’t just pass up an opportunity to avenge his brother.

The Hero Killer turned out to have an impeccable reaction time: even though Tenya had ambushed him with Extremespeed, the Bisharp managed to intercept and slash at him. Fortunately, he’d failed to cause any damage, only managing to hit Tenya’s helmet and send if flying right off his head. Tenya himself was knocked to the ground, though, but he was otherwise unharmed.

“What the-” the Hero Killer said, looking utterly surprised, then he blinked and shook his head “No, you’re not him. You can’t be. Your eyes are a different color. Plus, you’re much younger… who are you?”

Amidst his anger, Tenya felt a brief surge of satisfaction that the villain had seemingly mistaken him for his brother. Even if he hadn’t managed to land a blow, Tenya still managed to catch Tensei’s attacker off guard in some form.

“I am the brother of an incredible hero who _you_ attacked.” Growled Tenya as he stood up to face his nemesis. “He’s the best older brother that anyone could hope for. I have come to stop you because he can’t anymore. _You’re going to remember my name for as long as you live!_ ”

Tenya stood as tall as he could and gave the Hero Killer the most fulminating glare he could muster “ _I am Ingenium!_ And I WILL defeat you! That I promise!”

The Hero Killer simply nodded, not looking impressed or intimidated in the slightest.

“So be it, then.” He said “Die.”

“THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO DIE HERE IS YOU! THIS IS FOR TENSEI!” cried Tenya as he rushed at the Hero Killer with Extremespeed and readied a kick to the murderous Bisharp’s head, hard enough to snap his neck on impact.

However, the Hero Killer jumped out of the way effortlessly and delivered a kick of his own to Tenya’s left shoulder and proceeded to stomp him into the ground. The Lucario hissed in pain as he felt something in his shoulder pop and crack. A fracture, or possibly a dislocation. Either way, his shoulder had been badly damaged, rendering his left arm useless.

“How poetic.” The Hero Killer drawled “Ingenium’s little brother has taken up his name and come to avenge him. I let him live on purpose, you know. Let him live so he could spread the good word. Word of me. He was a weakling, by the way. Could barely even put up a fight. Judging by your performance just now, I’d say it must be a family trait.”

The Hero Killer then used his arm blades to stab Tenya in his already injured shoulder. The young Lucario gritted his teeth as he suppressed a scream. He wouldn’t give this bastard the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain, especially after insulting Tensei!

“You and the original Ingenium aren’t heroes.” The Hero Killer continued nonchalantly as he sank his razor-sharp hand further into Tenya’s shoulder “Both of you are nothing but fakes.”

“ _Shut up!_ ” Tenya snarled as tears flowed freely down his face, unable to contain them any longer “You damaged his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down! He’ll never be able to work as a pro again! He was an incredible and caring Pokémon who saved many lives! And you took all of that away from him!”

Tenya managed to lift his head to glare at the hero Killer again “So how _dare_ you call him a fake?! He was _my_ hero! Someone I looked up to! He inspired my dream that someday I could become a hero too! I WON’T FORGIVE YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about saving those two?” said the Hero Killer as he pointed behind him.

Tenya looked over at where the Bisharp was pointing and saw two figures lying a few steps ahead, close to the alleyway’s wall. He gasped. It was Mineta and Mount Lady. What where they doing here in Hosu?! And how long had they been lying there?

The Hero Killer gave a short, mirthless laugh. “You had no idea that they were here, did you? You were so busy with your grudge that you didn’t even care that there were two victims present. You were only planning to use your Quirk for yourself and not for others, blinded by a selfish desire for revenge. You’re about as far away from being a hero as I can imagine. And that, child, is why you’ll die tonight.”

The Hero Killer finally pulled out his hand from Tenya, and to the Lucario’s horror and disgust, licked the blood off it. In an instant, Tenya felt his body go stiff, and when he tried to move it, he found that he was unable to, even his toes seemingly being rendered unable to so much as twitch.

“Goodbye, child.” Said the Hero Killer as he readied another stab, this time aimed at Tenya’s neck “May your death bring upon a better world.”

Tenya thought about Tensei’s smiling gentle face, his assertion that Tenya’s admiration of him was what truly drove him to be the best hero he could be. The young Lucario decided that if he was going to die, he might as well defy his murderer one last time.

“SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT ABOUT ME!” he screamed “BUT IN THE END YOU’RE JUST A CRIMINAL WHO HURT MY BROTHER!”

Just before the murderous Bisharp could land the killing blow, Tenya saw from the corner of his eye a small, green blur crackling with light strike the Hero Killer in the face with enough force to knock him off Tenya.

Tenya’s eyes widened in surprise. He recognized that blur. “Midoriya?! How…?”

The Eevee landed between Tenya and the Hero Killer and crouched down to a combat stance as he faced the latter.

“Don’t worry Iida.” Said Midoriya, briefly turning his head to address his friend “I’m gonna save you!”

* * *

When Izuku finally managed to locate Iida’s scent and follow his trail, for a horrifying moment he thought he’d been too late when he smelled blood. Iida’s blood. Then he heard his friend scream, and that was when Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and ran into the blackness of the alleyway. There he found the Hero Killer about to stab his Lucario friend to death, and that’s when Izuku tackled him.

Iida was in bad shape, sprawled against the ground and bleeding heavily from his right shoulder, but luckily he seemed to have no other injuries.

“Midoriya…” said Iida “how did you find me?”

“I followed your scent.” Said Izuku as the Hero Killer took a couple of steps towards them, seemingly regarding Izuku with inquisitiveness “That’s actually the abridged version, but I’ll explain properly later! Right now, we need to head back toward the street and get help from the pros!”

“I can’t… my body won’t move…” Iida said with a grunt “It must be the Hero Killer’s Quirk! Ever since he cut me I’ve been paralyzed!”

“I saw some news outlets speculate that he had a Quirk like that…” muttered Izuku, whose mind was now racing as he tried to think of possible ways to save Iida now that the Lucario couldn’t move.

Then, Izuku saw two other Pokémon lying motionless further ahead and his heart skipped a beat; Iida was already too big for him to drag to safety, but with Extreme Evoboost Full Cowl providing increased strength, a rescue might have been plausible. But now it turned out that there two more victims to save, meaning running away was no longer a valid option. Izuku had no choice but to somehow fight off the Hero Killer right here… when the pro-heroes were too busy dealing with the Type: Null chaos… and even if that wasn’t the case, nobody knew where Izuku, the Hero Killer, and the Hero Killer’s victims were…

Good news, Izuku now knew that since the Hero Killer’s power was activated by cutting, all he had to do was avoid the blades in his body. Bad news, the Hero Killer was a Bisharp, so he was practically 90% blades, which would make avoid being cut extremely difficult at best.

“I recognize you, child.” Said the Hero Killer, his eyes still fixed on Izuku “You’re the same Eevee that appeared in the Sports Festival recording that that Grimmsnarl with the mangy white hair showed me. Let me tell you, he _really_ has it out against you.”

Wait, a white-haired Grimmsnarl? Could the Hero Killer be talking about Shigaraki?! That _would_ explain the Type: Nulls suddenly rampaging through the city just now… But what connection did the Hero Killer have with the League of Villains? Had he been recruited into their ranks?

Izuku shook his head frantically. _No! Focus! I can’t think about that connection right now! I gotta save Iida and those other two Pokémon!_

“You came here to save your friend’s life.” The Hero Killer pointed out, sounding mildly impressed “You even made a big entrance. However, I have a duty to kill him and the two lying over there.”

Izuku looked at the Hero Killer’s other two victims again and his heart skipped a beat when he suddenly realized who they were.

“Mineta?! Mount Lady?! What are you guys doing here?!”

“Hoy Mehdoriyuh, whossuph?” Mineta blubbered, his response slurred and nasally.

“Hey there, Mineta’s friend!” said Mount Lady, who sounded incredibly embarrassed “Thanks for having awesome timing.”

“Wait, so you all know each other?” said the Hero Killer as he looked around from Pokémon to Pokémon in mild bemusement “Wow, what are the odds?”

“Well, _I_ don’t know the Lucario or the Eevee.” Said Mount Lady “But the latter at least seems to know who I am, though I guess that makes sense since I’m a pro-hero and all.”

“…Well, whatever, I’m finishing my job regardless.” Said the Hero Killer who then addressed Izuku “When your Lucario friend here chose to fight me, it guaranteed that the weaker of us would be culled. So, what will you do, little Eevee?”

Izuku promptly felt his fur stand on end as an unearthly chill ran down his back. The Hero Killer hadn’t raised his voice at all while saying his last sentence, nor had it changed tone in the slightest, yet somehow it still felt as though it was _dripping_ with venom. Then there was also the Bisharp’s glare… he was not like the villains that had ambushed him and his classmates at UA; those guys clearly attacked out of a sick sense of pleasure, but the Hero Killer had something deeper to his motives… his eyes were those of a fanatic.

Acting quickly, Izuku moved slightly to the side so he could discreetly use his tail to reach into the compartment on his costume’s utility belt where his phone was and sent an alert with his location to all his contacts, hoping against the odds that at least one of them would be nearby and understand the message. The young Eevee was really regretting not having brought a pro-hero with him, but he couldn’t waste time regretting that oversight now: right now, he just had to fight off the Hero Killer, keep Iida, Mineta and Mount lady safe as he stalled for time. Hopefully and with any luck, he would be able to force the Bisharp to retreat, however farfetched that possibility seemed…

“Midoriya, _please_!” Iida cried “Stand down and run away! This has nothing to do with you!”

Izuku’s expression turned serious and turned to look at his friend “If you really believe that, why are you trying to become a hero in the first place, Iida?”

Then, he once again faced the Hero Killer and adopted a combat stance as he uttered the same words All Might had said to him back at the Sports Festival. “Meddling where you don’t have to is the essence of being a hero!”

Strangely, the Hero Killer smiled widely at this, it was a smile of sheer, genuine joy. There wasn’t time to ponder on this, though, so Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and charged at the Hero Killer, who got ready to slash at him once he got close. Izuku had anticipated this however, and just as he was within range of the Bisharp’s strike, he ducked and dived between the Hero Killer’s legs. Then, Izuku jumped just as the Hero Killer turned around to slash at him again, and the Eevee was left with a prime position to land a blow to the Bisharp’s head, which was just about the only part of his body that wouldn’t cut him and by extension, wouldn’t activate his paralyzing Quirk.

Being only able to use 5% of Extreme Evoboost’s output, Izuku didn’t do that much damage, but the blow he landed was still strong enough to daze the Hero Killer and make him stagger.

Izuku made a triumphant landing. _Yes!_ He thought. _I really can fight!_

Suddenly, Izuku felt his body going stiff, and instantly he realized that the Hero Killer must have landed a cut.

“You’re a pretty smart fighter, little Eevee,” Said the Hero Killer as he walked next to Izuku “you used your small size to your advantage to get away from my field of vision so you could land a clean shot. Shame that I saw through your plan. You’re also not strong enough to fight me alone.”

Although Izuku couldn’t move his head to look up at the Hero Killer, he managed to catch a glimpse of the Bisharp’s blood-caked blades. That’s when he realized; it wasn’t the cuts themselves that activated the Hero Killer’s Quirk, it was the blood!

The Hero Killer then begam moving again, strolling towards Iida. _No!_ Izuku desperately tried to fight off the paralysis, but his body remained as unmoving as stone.

“Most heroes these days are all talk,” said the Hero Killer “but you, little Eevee, I will let live. You’ve proven yourself worthy. Unlike these three…”

“Wait!” Izuku begged “If I really have proven myself ‘worthy’ to you as you say, please spare them too, for my sake!”

“Sorry, child.” Said the Hero Killer, his voice a low hiss and not at all apologetic “But I simply cannot let scum like these three live and walk away.”

“No! Don’t!” Izuku cried as the Hero Killer got ready to stab Iida on the back “Stop it! GET AWAY!”

A powerful stream of flame sped towards the Hero Killer, who had to stop his attack on Iida to dodge.

“Next time you send an alert, Midoriya, you should give more than just your location. I was almost too late to stop this guy.”

Izuku was so relieved that he almost laughed. It was Todoroki, who had arrived just in the nick of time.

“And another Pokémon brat to get in my way.” The Hero Killer grumbled “And he’s also an acquaintance? Just how many of your friends happen to be in Hosu, Ingenium?!”

Todoroki used Subzero Slammer and controlled the ice so that it would put Izuku, Iida, Mount Lady and Mineta in a safer spot. Then, Todoroki unleashed Inferno Overdrive on the Hero Killer, who again moved out of the way.

“Don’t worry everyone!” cried Todoroki as he repeatedly blasted the Hero Killer with fire and ice, which the Bisharp once again dodged “The pros will be here any minute now!”

“Todoroki, you can’t let him get your blood!” cried Izuku “I-I think he immobilizes his enemies by swallowing it! That’s how he got us!”

“Well, good thing my Quirks work great at long range, then.” Said Todoroki “All I have to do is keep my distance and keep him away from me!”

As if on cue, the Hero Killer was suddenly face to face with Todoroki, who didn’t even have time to blink as he was slashed across his left cheek. The Hero Killer then grabbed the Vulpix and prepared to lick the bleeding wound, but Todoroki was able to set the left side of his body aflame before the Bisharp could taste his blood.

Todoroki blasted the Hero killer with his Quirks again, alternating between Subzero Slammer and Inferno Overdrive as needed. Infuriatingly, the criminal was too fast, and Todoroki continually failed to land even one clean hit. That said, Izuku still noticed that something had changed about the Hero Killer’s fighting style; he was moving much faster, but at the same time his movements became deranged, and his expression was one of visible frustration. It was almost as if the Hero Killer was desperate to end this fight as soon as possible.

“Stop it!” cried Iida, his voice grunting as though just speaking took a huge effort “Why are you doing this? His fight is with _me_! _I_ inherited my brother’s name! _I’m_ the one who should defeat him! THE HERO KILLER IS MINE!”

“Oh, so you’re Ingenium now?” Todoroki snarked as he used Subzero Slammer to create a huge ice wall to keep the Hero Killer at bay, then he turned to look at Iida “Strange, last I checked, Ingenium was not the vengeful type. He certainly never had a look as hateful as yours is right now.”

Just then, the hero Killer sliced his way through Todoroki’s ice. The young Vulpix got ready to unleash an Inferno Overdrive, but unfortunately was one second too slow as the Hero Killer pinned him to the ground and stabbed his left foreleg.

“TODOROKI!” Izuku cried, making one last-ditch effort to stand up… which worked this time.

Moving quickly, Izuku tackled the Hero Killer off Todoroki as hard as he could without going over 5% of Extreme Evoboost’s power.

“I’m not sure why, but I’m able to move now!” cried Izuku as he slammed the Hero Killer into a wall.

“I guess he must have a time limit.” Said Todoroki.

“No, if that was the case, then Midoriya should have been the last to recover!” Said Mineta.

“Yeah, I was the one he used his Quirk on first,” Mount Lady added “but I still can’t move!”

The Hero Killer elbowed Izuku in the face and sent him skidding across the floor.

“Midoriya, watch out!” cried Todoroki as he unleashed another Subzero Slammer.

The Eevee was only barely able to get up just in time to dodge the ice barrage, which did save him from being slashed by the Hero Killer again.

“Are you okay?” said Todoroki as he walked next to his friend.

“Yeah, but how about you?” said Izuku, staring at Todoroki’s left foreleg, which was oozing blood.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a deep cut.” Said Todoroki, obviously lying “More importantly, how does this guy’s Quirk work? You were the last that he used it on but the first freed.”

“Yeah.” Izuku said thoughtfully “I have a few guesses; one is that maybe his Quirk becomes less effective the more he uses it in succession, another is that maybe the time he can leave a Pokémon paralyzed is dependent on how much blood he ingests, or maybe… maybe it works better on certain Pokémon species than others?”

The Hero Killer, who had been standing back presumably to catch his breath, gave Izuku a wicked smile “You’ve figured it out. Bravo. Yes, my Quirk’s effectiveness varies between species, specifically body shapes: the closer a Pokémon’s body shape is to mine, the longer-lasting the effects of my Quirk.”

Izuku frowned. Knowing how the Hero Killer’s Quirk worked was fine, but it wouldn’t help much in the current situation.

“I was hoping that together we might be able to carry these three and get out of here.” Said Todoroki, as if reading Izuku’s mind “But this guy’s too fast! Throughout this time neither my ice nor my fire have been able to land a clean hit on him! I’d have to leave myself unguarded! Our best option is to hold the line until the pros arrive and avoid close combat.”

“No, you’re too injured! You said your cut wasn’t deep, but you’ve lost way too much blood!” Izuku protested as he activated Extreme Evoboost I’ll distract him while you support me from behind! Sound like a plan?”

“It’s risky but… okay!” Todoroki nodded “We can protect them!”

“Two against one, huh?” the Hero Killer grunted “This won’t be an easy fight. This has been a long night for me, what a bother.”

* * *

Tenya watched as his friends fought fiercely to protect him. The young Lucario was sobbing quietly, tears streaming down his face. How could he have been so stupid?! As much as he hated to admit it, the Hero Killer had been right about him. Tenya had let his desire for revenge consume him to the point that he hadn’t even noticed that there had been other Pokémon in danger, one of which was his own classmate no less!

“FREAKING FINALLY, I’M FREE!” Mineta squealed as he stood up and rushed into the scuffle “TAKE THIS, YOU EDGY BASTARD!”

Mineta threw a couple of Sticky Barbs at the Hero Killer, who in the process of dodging put himself in prime position for Midoriya to knock him down with a Superpowered tackle.

The Hero Killer snarled in pain and frustration and slashed one of Midoriya’s legs, causing the Eevee to cry out in pain as blood spilled out from the wound in copious amounts. Tenya winced as he watched his friend being slammed against the wall and falling to the floor in a heap. The hero Killer licked off the blood and immobilized Midoriya again.

_My friends… they’re getting hurt for me… they’re bleeding for me… While I… I forgot what’s most important about being a hero…_

“Iida!” Todoroki called to him while in the middle of launching an attack “You want to make your brother proud?! Then stand up and BE Ingenium! Become the hero he’d want you to be!”

Tenya’s eyes felt heavy with tears. After what he’d done tonight, he didn’t feel like he could ever become a hero worthy of his brother’s name.

Now that Midoriya was out of commission, only Todoroki and Mineta were left fighting, but the Hero Killer was still easily holding his own. At one point of the fight, Mineta managed to land a Sticky Barb on one of the Hero Killer’s arm blades, thereby rendering it useless, but infuriatingly the Bisharp was still an adept slasher with just one arm. They needed another fighter.

Tenya gritted his teeth as he felt the rigid feeling of his body start to lift. His arms and legs twitched, and that’s when he realized that he could finally move again. Tenya struggled to stand up, his wounded shoulder bleeding heavily, but he ignored the pain to the best of his ability, then, by using Extremespeed, delivered a kick to the Hero Killer just as the villain was about to slice Todoroki’s neck.

“Iida!” the Immobilized Midoriya cried in relief.

“Good, you’re free too.” Said Todoroki “I guess the Hero Killer’s Quirk is not as great as I thought it was.”

“Todoroki. Midoriya. I apologize.” Said Tenya “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Come on, Iida, not this again!” cried Midoriya.

“I wasn’t done.” Said Tenya “I was going to say… I won’t let you two shed any more blood for me!”

“Oh, don’t try to pretend you’re a hero _now_.” Snarled the Hero Killer as he recovered from Tenya’s attack “It’s far too late: Pokémon don’t suddenly change their true natures in the span of a few minutes! You’ll never be anything but a fraud who prioritizes his own desires! You’re the sickness that’s infected society and ruined the word ‘hero’!”

“You’re a fundamentalist lunatic!” Todoroki said with disgust “Iida! Don’t listen to that nonsense!”

Tenya shook his head “No. He’s completely correct. I have no right to call myself a hero.” Feeling the blood flow across his arm, the Lucario clenched his fists “Even so, there’s no way I can back down! If I give up now, then the name Ingenium will die!”

“Yeah, universe, that’s real kind of you, letting the grown-ass adult remain immobile while the kids are forced to fight for their lives. Isn’t that just nice?” That was Mount Lady, the only one who hadn’t yet recovered from the Hero Killer’s paralysis. She sounded horribly annoyed.

“Quit complaining, you’re the lucky one!” Mineta protested “I wish I was in your position right now and didn’t have to do any fighting! I don’t like to risk my life, you know!”

Tenya saw one of the Hero Killer’s eyes twitch.

“WELL THEN GOOD THING YOU CHOSE A CAREER THAT INVOLVES RISKING YOUR LIFE _ON FIGHTS_ ON A DAILY BASIS, HUH, YOU STUPID FUCKING MONKEY!!!”

Faster than anyone could blink, the Hero Killer had grabbed Mineta and thrown him to the ground and was now punching him repeatedly. Yes, _punching_ , not slashing. The Pansage’s comment had infuriated the Hero Killer so much, he had completely thrown all strategy out the window and had maybe even forgotten he was in the middle of a fight.

“YOU! ARE! THE WORST! HERO APPRENTICE! EVER! SERIOUSLY! YOU! HAVE! NO! REDEEMING! QUALITES! WHATSOEVER! THAT’S! ACTUALLY! A FIRST! PERVERT! COWARD! UGLY! AAARRRGHGHGHS!” the enraged Bisharp said in between punches, and at one point he punched Mineta so hard that the Sticky Barb embedded on his blade flew off.

“Um, guys,” Midoriya squeaked, unable to take his eyes off the strange scene “maybe someone please help him?”

“Y-yeah, we’re on it.” Todoroki stuttered, also staring at the Hero Killer wide-eyed.

Todoroki then concentrated and fired off an Inferno Overdrive, and for the first time that night, actually managed to connect. The Hero Killer was just _that_ distracted.

The Bisharp screamed as the flames engulfed him and released Mineta. His eyes were so bloodshot they appeared to be glowing red, so he was clearly still unbelievably infuriated. Unfortunately, Todoroki’s attack had reminded him about the other three teens he was supposed to be fighting, and promptly went right back to engaging them.

Todoroki threw another blast of flame, followed by a barrage of ice. The Hero Killer dodged the former and slashed through the latter. Todoroki’s attacks slowed down the Hero Killer’s movements slightly, and Tenya took the chance to rush at him with Extremespeed and land a kick.

_I will defeat you, Stain! Because YOU are a CRIMINAL, and I am a HERO!_

Just as he closed in on the Bisharp, Tenya saw a blur of green coming at them from the opposite side. Midoriya. He’d recovered again!

Tenya landed a kick on the Hero Killer’s ribs. Midoriya struck him on the head. Todoroki finished things off with an Inferno Overdrive. At long last, the Hero Killer was finally knocked unconscious. They’d done it. Tenya and his friends had won.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if my decision to change the way the Hero Killer’s Quirk works sounds strange, but I thought it would be too confusing to use blood types like in canon, since I personally theorize that Pokémon blood types work similarly to animals… except animal blood types are VERY different from ours and work differently as well, not to mention that they vary wildly between species, which makes things a bit complicated to say the least. Of course, due to the larger number of Pokémon body shapes compared to human blood types, the fight against the Hero Killer was probably longer here than in canon. I should also mention that in this version the Hero Killer’s Quirk is a highly mutated variant of the Paralysis status effect, though the Quirk itself probably retains its MHA-canonical name of Bloodcurdle.
> 
> Anyways, in case you don’t know the different body shape classification of Pokémon, here’s a list, starting from the body shape the Hero Killer’s Quirk is most effective against and ending with the one it’s least effective against:  
> 1\. Pokémon with a bipedal, tailless form (Bisharp and Tsareena are in this category)  
> 2\. Pokémon with a bipedal, tailed form (Lucario and Pansage are in this category)  
> 3\. Pokémon consisting of a head and base  
> 4\. Pokémon with a single pair of wings  
> 5\. Pokémon with multiple pairs of wings  
> 6\. Pokémon consisting of a head and legs/Pokémon consisting of a head and arms (these are two different groups, but I thought they were similar enough for the Hero Killer’s Quirk to affect them equally)  
> 7\. Pokémon consisting of only a head  
> 8\. Pokémon with a serpentine body  
> 9\. Pokémon with a quadruped body (Eevee and Vulpix are in this category)  
> 10\. Pokémon with fins  
> 11\. Pokémon with tentacles or a multiplied body  
> 12\. Pokémon with an insectoid body  
> 13\. Pokémon consisting of multiple bodies


	19. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The saga of the Hero Killer ends. Mineta gets dunked on one last time.

With how bad the damage to his leg was, Izuku had no idea how he’d mustered the strength and speed to land a blow on the Hero Killer just now, helping Iida and Todoroki defeat him. When the Eevee tried to stand, he felt his entire leg sting with pain and immediately collapsed to the ground.

“Hey there, little Eevee. Need some help?”

Izuku looked up to see Mount Lady giving him a warm look.

“The paralysis just wore off for me.” She said “Really inconvenient. I couldn’t help you kids in the fight at all!”

“That’s okay.” Said Izuku “How are your injuries? How’s Mineta?”

“I only have a few scrapes, don’t worry. As for Mineta, he’s fine, just a bit beat up. Mostly he’s shocked about the… outburst.” Said Mount Lady hesitating a bit with the last word “Right now he’s helping the Lucario and Vulpix tie the Hero Killer up. Conveniently, there was some discarded rope in one of the trashcans. Isn’t that lucky?”

“Hmm.” Was all that Izuku could say. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was starting to feel really tired…

Suddenly, Izuku felt a pair of arms gently grabbing him and picking him up. He yelped in surprise.

“Oh, sorry.” Said Mount Lady “I just noticed that you busted up your leg pretty bad and figured you wouldn’t be able to walk very well, so…”

Izuku flushed and shook his head frantically “Oh, no! You don’t have to do that! I’m fine, really!”

“Kid, please let me do this, it’s the least I can do after you saved my life.” Said the Tsareena “Especially because I couldn’t help you guys at all back there.”

“Th-thanks.” Izuku said, voice cracking with embarrassment.

“ _I_ should be the one thanking _you_.” Mount Lady laughed good-naturedly.

“Yeah, if it weren’t for you guys, we’d be gonners!” said Mineta as he helped Todoroki and Iida drag the tied-up and unconscious Hero Killer. “Good thing we kicked this jerk’s ass!”

“That’s only mostly because of the Hero Killer’s own tactical mistakes, especially towards the end when he decided to pummel you, Mineta.” Todoroki pointed out “We also outnumbered him, and it’s clear that his fighting-style and Quirk are not all that well-suited for fights against multiple opponents.”

“Still, the fact that you kids managed to beat him is still impressive considering your inexperience.” Said Mount Lady “For now let’s stop worrying about what ifs and get the Hero Killer to the police before he wakes up.”

Just as the group exited the alleyway, though, they were greeted by an incredibly cranky old Hawlucha.

“What are you doing here, boy?! What did I tell you about staying on the bullet train?!” cried Gran Torino as he ran towards them and karate chopped Izuku in the head.

“Hey, don’t hit him!” Mount Lady protested “This Eevee saved my life just now!”

“Midoriya, who is this?” asked Todoroki.

“Oh, this is Gran Torino. He’s the hero I’m interning with.” Said Izuku. “No clue how he found us, though.”

“I was told to come here by someone else.” Gran Torino crossed his arms, still fuming slightly “I have no idea what happened here, but I’m glad you’re not dead.”

“Me too. And I’m sorry.” Izuku bowed his head.

The conversation was interrupted by the sudden arrival of multiple heroes.

“Endeavor told us there was a request for help here!”

“Children? Those injuries look bad! I’ll call an ambulance right away!”

“Hold on, is that _the Hero Killer_??!”

“Guess I’ll have to call the police too!”

At Izuku’s request, Mount Lady set him back down on the ground; he felt it was a bit embarrassing to be carried around constantly. Besides, it’s not like this was the first time Izuku had been forced to limp about on three legs… just the first time the big injury was to a _back_ leg. Todoroki offered support in case Izuku needed to lean against someone.

“You guys…” Iida said as he walked over to Izuku and Todoroki “you were both hurt because of me. I’m truly sorry. I was so angry I lost sight of what’s important. And you both had to pay the price.”

Iida made a deep bow and stayed there for a long time, and when Izuku saw the Lucario’s back and chest twitch, he realized that Iida was trying to hide his tears. Izuku them remembered Iida’s strange behavior prior to this incident and felt a sharp pang of guilt. Guilt because Izuku had noticed something was wrong but hadn’t done nearly enough to support his friend.

“I’m sorry too, Iida.” Izuku confessed “You were going through so much pain, and I didn’t realize how deep-seated it was even though I’m your friend. I should have done more to help.”

Iida said nothing and continued to weep silently.

“Hey, come on, pull yourself together.” Said Todoroki “You’re the Class Rep.”

“R-right.” Iida wiped his tears.

“GET DOWN!”

Gran Torino’s waring came too late. There was a loud screech, and suddenly the winged Type: Null appeared and dived towards the group. Before anyone could react, the creature had snatched Izuku with his talons and taken off into the sky.

It took a second for Izuku’s brain to register that he was being kidnapped by a flying creature and that he was quickly getting farther and farther away from the ground, and now he couldn’t even struggle free lest he meet a painful demise courtesy of gravity’s pull should the Type: Null drop him.

Izuku saw Gran Torino leap towards him, but the Hawlucha’s expression told Izuku that they were too high up for even Acrobatics to reach them. But then, the Type: Null suddenly went stiff and rapidly began losing altitude. Gran Torino halted his jump in midair. The Hero Killer jumped on the Type: Null’s back and stabbed him on the head, then he grabbed Izuku as the three plummeted to the ground.

Izuku lied on the ground, trembling, he slowly and fearfully turned his head to look at the Bisharp, whose hand was still on top of his back, essentially holding him hostage. What had just happened?

 _The Hero Killer must have regained consciousness and broken free of his bonds while we were talking._ Izuku’s brain helpfully informed. _He must have tasted this Type: Null’s blood and halted his movements. And… he saved me?_

“The word hero has lost all meaning.” The Hero Killer muttered “The world is overrun by fakes and criminals who chase petty dreams… they must _all_ be purged. Everything that I do is to create a stronger society!”

The Hero Killer twisted the blade he’d jammed into the Type: Null’s head and brusquely pulled away, causing a huge amount of blood to spill out. The Type: Null had been twitching before, but now it was completely motionless. Izuku had to resist the urge to vomit.

“Why are you all standing around like idiots! That freak of nature villain flew over here! I’ve already taken care of the others- hold on, that Bisharp… don’t tell me…”

That voice was Endeavor’s. Izuku saw the Hero Killer’s expression somehow turn even sourer and angrier than it already was as he turned his head to look at the newest arrival. The Bisharp tightened his grip on Izuku, who tried to struggle free to no avail.

“ _Endeavor_!” the Hero Killer spat out the word as though it were the world’s most foul-tasting poison.

As he stood up to properly face the #2 hero, the Hero Killer finally let go of Izuku, but the young Eevee couldn’t find it in him to engage the villain: the Bisharp seemed to be emanating a deep, suffocating aura of raw hatred that terrified Izuku into immobilization. Terrified _everyone present_ into immobilization. Even _Endeavor_ seemed to be petrified. The only one who made a sound was Mineta, who blubbered and whimpered until Iida covered his mouth.

“Endeavor!” the Hero Killer repeated “The worst of all the false heroes!”

“I’ll make this right!” the Hero Killer took a step towards the Emboar, who could do nothing but stare.

“These streets must run with the blood of hypocrites!” another step. Still none of the heroes could move.

“I’LL RECLAIM THE WORD ‘HERO’!” another step. “COME ON, JUST TRY AND STOP ME, YOU FAKES! THERE IS ONLY ONE POKEMON IN THE WORLD WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO KILL ME. A TRUE HERO: _ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY_!”

It was at this last sentence that the Hero Killer finally stopped, and the suffocating aura dissipated. For a while, no one dared to move a muscle or say anything, thinking that maybe the Hero Killer would start walking and ranting out his philosophy all over again. But nothing happened. The Hero Killer remained where he was: mid-step, mouth hanging open.

“I… I think… he’s fainted…” Endeavor said at last.

A wave of relief settled on everyone, though it was largely soured by the knowledge that none of the heroes present had had the courage to fight.

* * *

The ambulances and police arrived pretty soon after that, and Izuku and his friends were taken to the hospital to have their injuries treated. The Hero Killer himself had to be patched up too, since he too had been roughed up quite a bit from the fight, with the burns he’d gotten from Todoroki’s fire attacks being by far the most evident injuries, but he had other bruises too. In fact, what had caused him to pass out during his rage-induced rant after killing the winged Type: Null was that one of his fractured ribs had punctured a lung.

Unfortunately, the fact that Izuku and his friends weren’t certified heroes yet meant that the beatdown they’d given to the Hero Killer was illegal, as they’d been told by Hosu’s Chief of Police Kenji Tsuragamae, who was a stone-faced Manectric. Luckily, since there had been no witnesses outside of a few pros, the kids would be let off with only a warning so long as they agreed to let Endeavor be given credit to the public for stopping the Hero Killer.

It sucked giving the glory to him of all Pokémon, but the alternative would be severe punishments for not just Izuku and his friends, but the heroes they’d all interned under. Of course, the grown-ups would still face some consequences for negligence: Gran Torino and Manual had their teaching licenses temporarily suspended, and as for Mount Lady, well… since it had been her idea to take Mineta to Hosu and confront such a dangerous criminal, she’d been outright forbidden to take in any more interns in the future.

“To be honest with you, guys, I still can’t believe we’re all still alive.” Izuku said later that day when they were left alone “With how badly damaged my leg was, I’m sure the Hero Killer could have ended me whenever he wanted.”

“Yeah.” Todoroki nodded “It seems he let you and me live. I’d say the real miracle is that Iida and Mineta survived, since the Hero Killer did want to end their lives.”

Upon hearing this, Iida looked down at his bandaged arm and sighed “From what I understood, the Hero Killer targets heroes who don’t meet his standards of heroism. He wanted to kill me because I wasn’t acting like a true hero… and he was right.”

The others looked at the Lucario in surprise.

“That’s not true, Iida!” Izuku protested “You’re one of the greatest Pokémon I know!”

Iida chuckled bitterly “Then you mustn’t know a lot of good Pokémon, then. The way I acted wasn’t right; instead of going after the Hero Killer because stopping his murder spree was the right thing to do, I only went after him out of a desire to avenge my brother. I didn’t even notice that he’d already attacked Mineta and Mount Lady by the time I got to him, essentially prioritizing my own emotions over their lives. He was right to call me a fake hero.”

There was a long silence as the other three processed the weight of Iida’s words. Then Mineta spoke up.

“Don’t be stupid! That guy’s standards are way too high anyway: he considered _me_ a fake hero just because I’m a bit of a pervert and like to fondle the bodies of sexy female Pokémon! What’s so wrong with that?”

The other three glared at him.

“Um, no offense, Mineta, but fondling others’ bodies without consent is below the baseline of common decency, let alone heroism.” Said Todoroki.

Iida nodded sternly “Your behavior is insulting towards female Pokémon _and_ demeaning to yourself.”

“Yeah, hadn’t you already gotten called out on this when we had that hangout after the Combat Training exercise?” said Izuku. “One thing I have noticed from our time at school is that pretty much none of the girls in our class seem to like you very much at all. You really don’t think that might say something about you?”

Mineta’s eyes darted from each of the other three Pokémon, staring at them in complete shock.

“Come on, you guys!” he protested “It’s almost like you’re all siding with the _Hero Killer_ here! He wanted to murder me!”

“Look, Mineta,” said Iida, who was clearly starting to get a little impatient “I want to make it abundantly clear that the Hero Killer was completely 100% wrong in wanting to murder you for being a pervert. That’s just taking things way too far. However, he was right in that your behavior is not becoming of a hero.”

Mineta looked utterly betrayed “ _He is a bad guy_!”

“Yes, he is.” Iida agreed “But one of the big catches about bad guys is that sometimes they can have a point, and this was one such example: The Hero Killer was right about you and me not being good heroes. Do not worry, though; we can use this harrowing experience to better ourselves and grow into true exemplar model heroes.”

“But-but…!” Mineta stuttered, visibly getting angry “ _Shut up_ , all three of you! If the girls don’t like me just because I touch them a little then that’s their problem! I mean, it’s not like I’m hurting them or anything, they’re just being whiny!”

There was a brief pause before Todoroki wordlessly reached out for a box of tissues in the table stand next to him and began taking them out and rolling them into little balls. Then, one by one, he threw them at Mineta’s head. It took less than one minute for the Pansage to snap.

“WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT, YOU STUPID HYBRID!”

“Oh, but it’s just tissue papers, Mineta!” Todoroki said in a sarcastic tone “It’s not like they’re hurting you or anything! You’re just being whiny!”

This finally seemed to do the trick, as the Pansage’s eyes widened in realization. He slouched on his bed and said nothing.

Izuku sighed and nodded a thank you to Todoroki, glad that this subject had finally been properly put to rest. Hopefully, this time the lesson would stick.

The rest of the day went by smoothly after that. Izuku got a call from Uraraka, who was worried for him due to the alert he had sent last night being on the same location of the Hero Killer’s arrest. Izuku excused himself from the room as to not disturb the others. The Eevee told his Espurr friend that he and the others were fine and corroborated the news’s statements about Endeavor being the one to take the villain down, as per the agreement with the Police Chief. Once the call was over, Izuku returned to the room.

“Hey guys!” Izuku greeted happily.

“Hey Midoriya.” Mineta greeted not so happily.

“Uh, what’s wrong…” Izuku looked at his friends’ downcast faces.

“Iida just got his test results.” Todoroki said as he gestured towards the Lucario with one of his tails.

“Wh-what happened?” Izuku’s voice was barely a whisper.

“One of my paws might have permanent damage.” Iida said flatly.

Izuku stiffened. _Permanent damage?_

“My left arm was pretty torn up during the fight.” Iida explained “There was damage done to my nerves, which means my left paw may struggle with movement from now on. Though apparently there’s a chance it could be healed with nerve transplant surgery.”

“Then that’s good, right?” Izuku asked hopefully “You can just have that surgery and your arm will be fine again!”

But Iida shook his head “After I acted so rashly… after I let myself be confused by anger… I don’t deserve to call myself a hero, so I decided that I’d leave my arm the way it is as a reminder of my mistakes. At least until I can truly call myself a real hero.”

“Are you sure?” asked Todoroki.

Iida nodded decisively. It was said and done. However, Izuku still couldn’t help feeling horrible about what had happened: maybe if he’d been a better friend…

The Eevee shook his head. _No. Iida’s already accepted what happened. It would be selfish to make this about me. What I should be worrying about is giving Iida proper support from now on!_

Izuku then walked over towards Iida and offered his crooked paw.

“Iida, I feel the same way.” He said, “Let’s get stronger together!”

The Lucario smiled and knelt so he could properly give a light fist bump to Izuku using his own injured paw.

“Aww, my feels!” Mineta squealed from his bed as he clutched his chest with his hands.

Todoroki, meanwhile, only stared down at his paws. “This makes me feel kinda bad.”

Izuku, Iida and Mineta looked at him in surprise.

“How so?” Izuku asked.

“Well, it seems that any time I get involved in a fight, someone’s paw gets injured with permanent damage.” Said Todoroki, who then trembled slightly “Is-is something wrong with me? Am I _cursed_?”

There was a beat, then the other three Pokémon burst into laughter.

“Todoroki! I didn’t know you had a sense of humor!” said Izuku in between giggles.

“Guys, I’m serious!” Todoroki snapped “It’s like I’m the Paw Crusher or something!”

This only made the laughter intensify. It was all in good spirits, though. Shoto Todoroki the Paw Crusher! Such a silly…

* * *

Toshinori had to excuse himself from the Teachers’ Office when his phone suddenly rang. He also coughed up blood when he heard Gran Torino’s voice in the other end.

 _“You should have warned me about that Izuku Midoriya!”_ the elder protested _“I know it couldn’t be helped, but thanks to him my pay’s been cut, and my teaching license is being suspended for six months! That Eevee’s just as reckless as you are!”_

“I humbly apologize sir!” Toshinori said, trying to control his nerves “This is all because of my insufficient mentoring!”

 _“Yeah, it is!”_ Gran Torino said bluntly before sighing _“But whatever, I don’t care about my teaching license anymore, since you’re the only reason I got it. It was the best way to keep my promise.”_

“And believe me, no one appreciates that more than I do.” Said Toshinori “It’s only because of your wisdom and guidance that I became the #1 hero, after all.”

 _“Is that so?”_ Gran Torino said bemusedly _“Then why do you never visit me, you overgrown pincushion?”_

The Jolteon coughed slightly at this “W-well, it’s just that I’ve been busy what with my new teaching job and all!”

 _“That’s alright, don’t fret too much.”_ Said Gran torino, whose voice then adopted a much more serious tone _“Anyway, I need to get to the real reason I called you. It’s about the Hero Killer.”_

“Hm, what of him?” Toshinori asked, intrigued.

 _“Well, if you’ve been paying even the slightest bit of attention to the news, there is a strong probability that the Hero Killer is somehow connected to the League of Villains that attacked UA last month.”_ Said Gran Torino _“After all, his arrest coincided with the rampage of creatures that strongly resembled that chimeric villain you fought against. But what really concerns me is the fact that the Hero Killer proved himself a mon with a strong ideology: when I faced off against him, I couldn’t move a muscle! He was that intimidating.”_

“Seriously?” Toshinori was taken aback “I can’t believe he scared someone like you, Gran Torino!”

 _“Uh-huh.”_ Said Gran Torino _“I also believe that his ideology might inspire copycats: this story is already making headlines on the news and trending on the internet. With how fast it’s spreading, there’s no way other villains with similar ideals won’t feel empowered to come out of the woodwork and continue his sick work.”_

“Yeah, but if copycats do arise, they’ll just be stopped by other heroes just like in this case.” Said Toshinori.

 _“You’re forgetting about the connection to the League of Villains.”_ Gran Torino scolded _“They too are well known to the public due to their previous attack, and every Pokémon in the world takes it for granted that that Stain was a member or at least an ally of theirs. This means that the League of Villains will now be seen as less of a gang of unfocused juvenile delinquents and more of a legit organization with a clear ideology. This means that any potential Stain fanatics will seek them out to join their ranks. If the Pokémon leading the League of Villains anticipated that this would happen, then they- no,_ he _is a brilliant strategist.”_

Toshinori felt the blood on his veins freeze. He remembered the private conversation he’d had with his friend Detective Tsukauchi after the attack on the USJ. About how Type: Null had been found to be made up of the DNA of multiple Pokémon, and how even then it shouldn’t be possible for him to wield more than one or two Quirks, meaning _someone_ had to have given Type: Null all his Quirks. How there was only one known Pokémon in the world who could do something like that…

 _“You’re thinking it too, aren’t you?”_ said Gran Torino _“You already suspect that the one behind all this is the Pokémon who murdered Nana Shimura, your mentor, my dear friend, and the previous holder of Extreme Evoboost. The Pokémon who is also the cause of your current physical condition…”_

“I didn’t want to believe it at first.” The Jolteon felt his heartrate increase and was sure that if he still had a stomach it would have jumped straight to his throat “I thought I had taken him down for good… but it seems he’s back… for him to have survived the injuries I dealt, though… I don’t even want to imagine how that’s possible…”

From the other end of the line, Gran Torino grunted _“Listen, Toshinori, that young Eevee you’ve picked as your successor admires you greatly, yet you’ve been keeping important information about Extreme Evoboost from him. I don’t know if it’s because you’re trying to spare him from feeling too overwhelmed from the heavy burden that comes with being the latest holder or if you’re just that impossibly inept as a teacher, but either way, he deserves to know the truth. All of it. It’s_ your _responsibility as his mentor to tell him.”_

Toshinori sighed “Right. Thanks for calling, Gran Torino.”

* * *

The internship week was now over, and although Izuku had spent a chunk of it hospitalized, he still felt he’d grown a lot in that short time.

“I really can’t thank you enough for your time, Gran Torino.” Izuku bowed as he was getting ready to leave.

“I don’t think there’s any reason for you to thank me.” The old Hawlucha said with a yawn “I wasn’t around when the really big stuff happened.”

“Yeah, but the only reason I was able to stand up against Stain is because of our sparring sessions and your wise instructions.” Izuku said as he smiled and wagged his tail, though both of those came to an abrupt stop when Gran Torino smacked him over the head with his cane.

“OW! HEY!” Izuku rubbed his aching head. That was going to leave a mark…

“Yes, you survived! But only because the Hero Killer let you!” Gran Torino scolded “Do you even realize how rare it is for a villain to spare a hero’s life? You got amazingly lucky, boy!”

Izuku’s ears dropped slightly and averted his gaze in embarrassment. Yeah, Gran Torino was right. Even with his improved fighting skills Izuku was only barely able to fight the Hero Killer, even with help from Todoroki, Iida and Mineta.

Gran Torino sighed “At least now you can use Extreme Evoboost in a way that doesn’t hurt you. Just remember to not go over your 5% limit.”

Izuku wordlessly nodded as he stared down at his crooked paw. The glaring reminder of what could happen should the young Eevee ever overexert himself.

“I’m sure you know this already, but if you’re aiming to become the next Symbol of Peace, you still have a lot to learn, so keep at it!” said Gran Torino.

Izuku straightened up and looked the old Hawlucha in the eye. “Yes, sir!”

Gran Torino grunted and turned to head inside his apartment “See you around, kid.”

“Wait!” cried Izuku “Before you go, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask… you’re really strong, and you trained the #1 hero in the world, but no one knows who you are when you should be super famous… is-is there a specific reason for that?”

To Izuku’s surprise, Gran Torino just shrugged “To be honest with you, I was never that interested in working as a pro-hero.”

Izuku blinked and did a double take, unsure of if he’d heard the Hawlucha correctly “W-what?! But then, why-”

“Well, there was a point in my life where I needed to be able to use my Quirk freely and without limits. That’s the only reason I got my license. But I’ll let Toshi -that is, All Might- explain things to you.”

“Oh. Okay.” Izuku wasn’t sure if he was alright with that, since curiosity was eating away at him, but he didn’t want to be a bother.

“That’s it, kid.” Said Gran Torino “Just keep working hard.”

“Yes, sir.” Izuku bowed “Thanks again! Bye!”

The young Eevee turned around and started to walk away, but he’d only taken a couple of steps before Gran Torino called out to him.

“Hey, young Eevee… who are you?” Gran Torino had adopted the same dopey voice and stare he’d used to trick Izuku when they’d first met.

 _Seriously?!_ “Um… I’m Izuku Midoriya.”

Gran Torino shook his head “That’s not right!”

Izuku was just about ready to groan when he suddenly realized what the question meant.

“I’m _Deku_.”

Gran Torino smiled and nodded approvingly and went back inside his apartment without another word.

It was probably presumptuous, but Izuku couldn’t help but feel proud about saying his hero name out loud. The Eevee walked away with his tail held high and with confident steps despite his limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I've been working on some stuff lately and because of that I won't be able to update bi-weekly, at least for the time being. Consequently, the upcoming chapter will be posted next Saturday as opposed to Wednesday as usual, as will be the case for the next several weeks. That said, the stuff I've been working on IS related to this fic, so stay tuned. Thanks for understanding.


	20. Baton Passed Backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Announcement at the end of chapter.

Everyone returned from their internships a changed mon. Some more literally, like in Kacchan’s case: he’d come to school with his normally unruly fur practically drowning in gel, which the Typhlosion claimed he’d been unable to wash off. Kirishima and Sero got their kicks out of that, even when Kacchan grappled them both into headlocks.

Other students were luckier: Uraraka in particular seemed to have enjoyed her internship very much and was already showing off the extensive combat skills she’d attained.

And while some students, such as Jiro and Asui, had gotten to face off against villains, everyone considered Izuku, Tenya, Todoroki, and Mineta the “winners” of that category entirely due to _which_ villain they’d ended up fighting against. Everyone kept telling them how happy and relieved they were about their survival. Even Mineta’s, though in his case it helped that before entering the classroom he’d approached every girl in the class whom he’d either groped or attempted to grope and gave each of them a heartfelt apology. Reactions to this had ranged from happy acceptance to screaming “Who are you and what have you done to Minoru Mineta?!”, but it was clear they all appreciated it.

The Hero Killer himself had become the latest hot topic since that fight, in no small part thanks to footage of him taken during the night of his capture that had been uploaded to the internet and gone viral. It was always swiftly taken down, but every time that happened, there was always a daredevil soul who didn’t fear cease-and-desists ready to upload it again.

The real treat of the day, though, came during hero class. All Might was teaching again, and this time the exercise was a race of sorts: All Might would pose as a civilian in need of rescue and send a distress signal, then the students would each use their Quirks to see who could get to him first. To make things less chaotic, though, the class was divided into groups of five students who would race against each other. Izuku was placed in the group set to go first alongside Iida, Sero, Ojiro, and Ashido. All of them were quick-footed and had Quirks that helped bolster their mobility further, which was perfect, as they’d provide the perfect challenge for Izuku’s newly developed Full Cowl.

As soon as the signal went off, Izuku took off, jumping and summersaulting over the mazelike factory of the training field and quickly catching up with and overtaking his peers.

 _With my new training, I can win!_ Izuku thought as he sped past Sero, who’d been in first place. The Leavanny said something but Izuku couldn’t make out the words due to trying to concentrate on Full Cowl.

 _Focus! I can do this! Don’t go above 5%! Gotta stay calm and alert!_ Izuku leapt from a roof and into a metal tube… and promptly slipped and face-planted painfully into the ground below. Thank goodness it hadn’t been too big a fall. In the end, Sero won the exercise and Izuku learned a valuable lesson about watching his footing.

“Well done, all of you!” said All Might once all Group 1’s five students had gathered at the rescue spot “Even though Sero came in first, you’ve all shown remarkable improvement! If you keep at it, you’ll all be more than ready for your final exams!”

All Might dismissed them so that Group 2 could take their exercise, but he stopped Izuku briefly.

“You surprised me: that was incredible. Find me after class, we need to talk.” The Jolteon whispered. “The time has come for me to tell you the truth about me and Extreme Evoboost.”

* * *

When that stupid internship was finally over, Katsuki had been the happiest Typhlosion on earth. An entire week of his life had been effectively flushed down the drain what with that conceited idiot Best Jeanist, the hero he’d foolishly chosen to intern under, spending all of it trying to “tame” Katsuki’s emotions or some stupid shit like that. Katsuki was in _perfect_ control of his emotions, thank you very much! And then, as if to rub salt in the wound, Deku comes from his internship showing off massive improvement; no longer was he breaking his own skeleton with that weird power of his, and now he could move at incredible speeds. Worse still, the dumb Eevee had copied _Katsuki’s_ moves to propel himself into the air! That part is what especially pissed the Typhlosion off.

After the rescue exercise was over, Katsuki waited for a chance to confront Deku alone, and he found it at the end of the school day when he saw the nerd heading towards the Teacher’s Lounge instead of the lockers like everyone else. Katsuki quietly followed him and, once he got close enough, grabbed him by the back of his neck and then pinned him into a wall.

“Kacchan!” the nerd squeaked, cowering under Katsuki’s fulminating gaze.

“Look nerd, I don’t know what’s going on with you and that power of yours, but I saw the way you’re using it.” Katsuki growled, baring his teeth “ _It’s seriously pissing me off_!”

“U-um, w-well I-uh…” the dang nerd was stuttering, which was annoying, so Katsuki slammed him against the wall again, making him cry out.

“And what’s the big idea about copying my moves, asshole?!” Katsuki asked “What, you think you can do a better job at pulling them off, huh?!”

Deku shook his head frantically “N-no! Kacchan! I would never-!”

Katsuki cut him off by slamming him into the wall again. Damn, the nerd’s hollow apologies were infuriating! Especially with that squeaky voice of his!

Katsuki ignited one of his paws, ready to blow it up on Deku’s face. It wouldn’t be a strong blast, though, just a faint warning shot to remind the Eevee of his place.

In the past, Deku tended to cower and beg in tear-filled whimpers whenever Katsuki did this, but this time the Eevee decided to fight back by _biting_ onto Kacchan’s arm. It didn’t actually hurt that much, but the shock of the nerd’s reaction was enough for Katsuki to drop him. Then, just as soon as he hit the ground, Deku scrambled to his feet and dashed away.

Katsuki was about to give chase when he suddenly realized that Deku was headed for the Teacher’s Lounge. Damn it! He’d have to let the nerd go for now.

As he reluctantly left the school grounds, Katsuki was gritting his teeth so hard that they hurt. Stupid Deku! Not only did he have the gall to come back from his internship having massively improved while Katuki had essentially learned fucking nothing of use, but now he had become bold enough to _fight back_ against Katsuki’s threats?! Just because he’d made some mild improvements to his stupid power the nerd apparently thought he could stand up to Katsuki now, huh? It only made the fact that the universe was constantly fucking denying Katsuki of the opportunity to prove he was still superior even more infuriating. But okay… fine.. _whatever_. Finals were coming up soon, and hopefully _then_ Katsuki would get another chance to beat Deku.

* * *

Izuku’s heart was racing as he ran for the Teacher’s Lounge, not even bothering to check if the Typhlosion was tailing him or not (though Izuku doubted that even Kacchan would be impulsive enough to follow him where a teacher might catch him and get himself into trouble). It had been a while since Kacchan had been this hostile to him. In fact, it wasn’t since middle school that he’d been cornered and threatened by the Typhlosion in this manner. Well, that and the Combat Training exercise, but that at least was partially justified by it being a mock battle.

_Never mind, I can’t worry about Kacchan right now! All Might’s talk is what should be my priority._

Izuku soon found himself in front of All Might’s resting room and took a moment to try and compose himself before knocking.

* * *

When young Midoriya finally arrived, the weight on Toshinori’s chest increased tenfold. He really, _really_ didn’t want to do this. But Gran Torino was right: he couldn’t keep his protégé in the dark forever, since he was bound to learn the truth somewhere down the line anyway, so might as well spill it out now. Especially with the latest incidents.

Toshinori heard a knock on the door. Welp, it’s time.

“Young Midoriya, is that you? Please come in.”

The door slid open and the young Eevee stepped tentatively inside. He looked scared for some reason, which worried Toshinori. Sure, Midoriya was already a nervous and timid kid, but Tsohinori didn’t think he’d be _that_ worried about this talk…

“Hey, kiddo, you don’t look so good.” Toshinori said with concern “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, th-this is just… nerves.” Said the Eevee as he slid the door shut. Huh. If those were nerves, they appeared way worse than usual. Toshinori wondered if maybe Midoriya feared that he’d accidentally given his power away to a serial killer. Well, better get that one out of the way first, then. Ease the kid’s nerves a little before getting to the really heavy stuff…

“So, um, you mentioned Extreme Evoboost earlier. What’s it that you’re gonna tell me?” Midoriya asked as he sat down facing his mentor. Despite his nervousness, the young Eevee’s curiosity was clearly piqued: scared or no, Midoriya was clearly prepared to hear what Toshinori had to say.

The Jolteon sighed “You’ve been through a lot lately. Sorry that I couldn’t help you out.”

“Oh, no, you don’t need to apologize for that!” Midoriya said, shaking his head “It’s not like you could have known what was gonna happen anyway.”

Young Midoriya was probably right, but that still didn’t make Toshinori feel any less terrible. Especially since this was the second time his student had been in danger and he hadn’t been by his side. Then again, this was not the time for self-pity, so Toshinori got straight to the point.

“I heard that the Hero Killer swallowed some of your blood during the fight.” Said the Jolteon.

“Oh, um, yeah.” Said Midoriya, looking a bit confused “He paralyzes opponents by tasting their blood. Is that what this is about?”

“It’s related to the topic, yes.” Toshinori nodded slightly “Do you remember what I told you when I gave my power to you?”

“Eat this!” said Midoriya in a surprisingly good imitation of Toshinori’s voice AND face. Mildly disturbing, but then again, the kid _was_ a fanboy…

“No! Well, yes, I did say that. But that’s not the part I meant!” Toshinori said hastily before taking a deep breath “I said that the way Extreme Evoboost was passed down was through the consumption of DNA, that’s why you had to swallow my fur.”

Then Midoriya’s eyes widened in abject horror.

“Oh, holy crap!” cried the Eevee as he suddenly stood up “Don’t tell me that the Hero Killer has Extreme Evoboost now!”

“No! He doesn’t!” said Toshinori as he gestured for young Midoriya to calm down “I just thought you might be worried about that, but I see it didn’t even cross your mind.”

Midoriya blinked and sat back down.

“Extreme Evoboost can only be given to another Pokémon if the bearer _intends_ to give it away.” Toshinori explained “It’s not something that can be taken by force. It can be transferred by force, though. It all depends on the current holder’s will.”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief.” Said young Midoriya “I don’t think giving Extreme Evoboost away by force would be a good idea, though.”

“You’re right, it wouldn’t.” Toshinori chuckled slightly “Anyway, the point is, the Quirk you now have is unique, and you should know its origin: Extreme Evoboost is derived from another odd Quirk, a power that is very old.”

Young Midoriya tilted his head “So it used to be something different?”

Toshinori nodded and resumed speaking “This ancient Quirk allowed its user to take Quirks from others, and the user could either keep them for himself or give them away to other Pokémon as he saw fit.”

“What?” young Midoria’s shaky voice was a barely audible whisper “So there was a Pokémon who could just _steal_ the powers of others away, just like that?”

“Just like that.” Toshinori said bitterly “See, this happened way back when Quirks were just starting to appear and before the world had figured out how to deal with the newly-powered Pokémon among them. It was an era of pure chaos. Laws and rights were hotly debated, and civilization’s progress stalled. Society decayed.”

“Yeah, I remember this was a common subject in middle-school history class.” Midoriya said as he nodded thoughtfully “Some Pokémon have even said that if Quirks had never appeared, human beings would be living among us again.”

“Right.” Said Toshinori “Well, during that era of chaos, there was one Pokémon who managed to rally many others under his command. He went by the name ‘All for One’, symbolizing both the power of his Quirk and the vastness of his followers. He stole Quirks from others and then with his overwhelming abilities he spread his influence across the country, manipulating other Pokémon to serve his purposes and commit evil deeds with little resistance, since there wasn’t anyone powerful enough to stop him. In the blink of an eye, All for One basically built an empire of villainy.”

“I’ve seen plenty of rumors about that online, but I thought that was just an urban legend! No history textbooks ever mention something like this, nor is it taught at school…” Midoriya whispered, his voice cracking with fear, something that Toshinori couldn’t blame the kid for.

“I guess it’s because that’s exactly the kind of shameful history society would rather ignore.” Toshinori said with a shrug “In any case, when a Pokémon gains true power, they enjoy showing it off to others.”

“But how does this all tie together?” Midoriya asked “And what about Extreme Evoboost? Where does it fit in?”

“I said All for One could give Quirks to others, remember?” said Toshinori “He made other Pokémon trust him and submitted them to his will by altering their abilities: if a Pokémon had a Quirk but didn’t want it, All for One would just take it away; if a Pokémon didn’t have a Quirk but wanted one, All for One would grant them a power; and if a Pokémon had a Quirk but would rather have a different one, All for One would take the original Quirk and replace it with whatever it is the subject desired. He’d gladly do all of this, but only under the condition that any Pokémon he did favors for should succumb to him… or be killed if they refused to fall in line. All for One could also give multiple Quirks to an individual, but as it turns out, having too many Quirks would overload a Pokémon’s body, causing them to become mindless beasts incapable of speaking, just like the Type: Nulls are.”

Upon hearing this, Midoriya gasped and trembled slightly. A reasonable reaction: Toshinori himself could barely say that out loud without chills running down his spine. But he had to continue the story, as he still hadn’t explained Extreme Evoboost yet. Unfortunately, everything about this was important, so it’s not like he could abridge it or leave anything out… so the Jolteon resumed speaking.

“Anyway, this evil Pokémon had a younger brother who was pretty much his exact opposite in every way: Quirkless, weak, frail, and sickly, but with a righteous heart and a strong sense of justice. Naturally, the younger brother was disgusted by All for One’s deeds, so he tried to oppose him, but then, All for One transferred a power-stockpiling Quirk onto his younger brother, one that even the little one’s fragile body could handle. Why All for One did so is a mystery. Maybe he cared for his little brother deep down and giving him a Quirk was his way of showing affection. Or maybe All for One just hoped that by giving his little brother a Quirk he’d have no choice but to submit.”

“Wait, so then…” Midoriya’s eyes widened in realization “Don’t tell me…”

“Yes.” Said Toshinori “As it turns out, the younger brother _did_ have a Quirk, though its effect was so useless that even he was unaware of it for the longest time. The little brother’s Quirk was named Baton Pass, a power whose _only_ effect was that it could be passed on to others. So, pretty much completely worthless on its own. But then, the stockpiling Quirk merged with Baton Pass… and that is how Extreme Evoboost came to be.”

Midoriya could only stare at his mentor wide-eyed and jaw agape.

“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Toshinori chuckled mirthlessly “You and I are heroes fighting for justice, yet the power we wield spawns from evil.”

“Wait, hold on!” Midoriya suddenly cried out as he snapped out of his shock-induced trance “I understand how Extreme Evoboost came about now, but if the evil Pokémon that accidentally created it lived during the first generation of Quirks, then surely he’s long-dead by now, so why bring him up?”

Toshonori gave the Eevee a serious look. Oh, if only it were that simple…

“A Pokémon that can steal Quirks has virtually no limits, young Midoriya.” He said “There are Quirks that slow down aging, so it’s not a stretch to think that All for One stole something like that at one point in wretched his life. Because of this, the Symbol of Evil was practically immortal; his younger brother tried to stop him with his newly obtained power of course, but back then Extreme Evoboost was far, _far_ weaker than it is now, which combined with the massive difference in strength and overall physical condition between the two brothers meant that the younger brother ultimately couldn’t defeat his villainous elder brother. Thing is, because Extreme Evoboost can only be transferred onto others if the user wills it so, that means that it’s the one Quirk in the world that All for One could never hope to steal, making it the only one that has a fighting chance against the villain. So, the younger brother chose to pass Extreme Evoboost on, hoping that one day it’d become strong enough to overcome All for One. Extreme Evoboost was passed from user to user throughout the generations, slowly but surely growing in power, and yes, every single user of Extreme Evoboost fought against All for One, but it wasn’t until it was my turn that the Quirk’s power could finally rival that of All for One’s…”

“So then…” Midoriya whispered fearfully, his voice betraying the slightest whimper “all the past users were…”

“Killed in battle by All for One, yes…” The Jolteon felt his nonexistent stomach squirm as he let out a shaky breath “Including my mentor, Nana Shimura. She was incredibly brave…”

Toshinori looked away and held back tears. Even after all these decades, talking about the Sylveon who had been like a second mother to him was incredibly painful…

“All Might?” Young Midoriya’s concern-filled voice brought Toshinori back to the present. Right, he needed to finish his talk.

“Sorry about that, kiddo. I’m alright now.” Toshinori said before gesturing to the scarred part below his ribs “This injury I showed you when we first met is the result of my battle against All for One. It came at a great cost, but I did manage to finally defeat him… or at least, that’s what I thought. Turns out he survived and is now back in action as the brains behind the League of Villains.”

Toshinori stood up and walked towards the window, staring forlornly at the scenery outside, unable to look his protégé in the eye anymore.

“So now you know, young Midoriya.” He said, “The entire purpose of Extreme Evoboost is to defeat All for One, and as its latest holder, you may one day have to fight against this great evil… because I failed.” Toshinori sighed unhappily. He really hated that he had to burden _a child_ with such a task, and it was his own fault for not realizing that his old enemy was still around. “I know you didn’t expect this, but-”

“I’ll do my best!”

Toshinori turned his head to see his young apprentice standing up and… _smiling_ at him.

“I’ll do whatever you ask,” Said young Midoriya, his voice sounding the boldest it had during this whole meeting “no matter what it might take! As long as you’re with me, All Might, I can do anything! I know you’ll have my back!”

Staring at the little Eevee’s determined face made Toshinori feel horrible. He had to let young Midoriya know that by the time he faced All for One, Toshinori wouldn’t be by his side anymore, but… he couldn’t just tell him that. It’d only scare the poor kid and cause him unnecessary grief. So, in the end, all that the Jolteon said was:

“Thank you, young Midoriya.”

Somehow, he managed to smile back at his protégé. Toshinori was used to smiling to hide his true emotions, but this was the first time that the Jolteon felt disgusted with himself for adhering to his own “face every obstacle with a smile” motto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Sorry about the late post! Anyway, I decided that from now on I'm going to supplement this fic with drawings, as you may have noticed. Mostly because I think it'd be interesting for you all to get a more concrete idea of how everyone is supposed to look like as a Pokémon. I will try to go back to old chapters and add drawings to them as well (Chapter 1 already got its own drawing supplements).
> 
> Also, congratulations, AiaLaau, give yourself a pat on the back! Your guess was 100% correct!


	21. Test of Might

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teamwork 101

Time seemed to fly by as final exams got closer. Aizawa-sensei had announced the finals just one week before they’d take place. He also said that those who passed the exam would be attending summer camp, while those who failed would get extra summer classes instead. This made all of Class 1-A quite nervous, especially students like Ashido and Kaminari who hadn’t done well on their midterms. Izuku was nervous too, as although he’d ranked in the top 5 of his class’s grades on midterms, the practical portion of the exam had the Eevee worried. Itsuka Kendo, a Mienfoo student from Class 1-B, had been kind enough to let Class 1-A know that the practical exam would consist of battles against robots, but Izuku had a feeling in his gut that it wouldn’t be as simple as the entrance exam. What really made the Eevee nervous, though, was Kacchan’s demeanor: the Typhlosion had already confronted Izuku on the latter’s imitation of the former’s aerial maneuvers, and the day of the exams’ announcement, Kacchan had loudly declared in front of the whole class how he was going to beat Izuku before storming off.

And then there was what All Might had told him about the history of Extreme Evoboost. That there was a powerful, immortal supervillain who had the power to steal Quirks and had faced off against multiple generations of Extreme Evoboost users, including All Might himself. How that same Pokémon had been the one behind Shigaraki and the League of Villains. How Izuku would likely have to face him in battle one day because All Might had failed to finish him off.

In short, Izuku had had a lot to dwell on lately, which is probably why he’d been so restless, and why he’d been having nightmares almost constantly, something that hadn’t happened to him since he was a little kid.

Nightmares where he was Quirkless again, being jeered at by his peers, being told that he was worthless.

Nightmares about and unknown and unseen mysterious Pokémon stealing his friends’ Quirks because Izuku was always too slow to catch him, too weak to fight him, and too late to warn his victims before it was too late.

Nightmares about Shigaraki discovering All Might in his weakened state and disintegrating him into dust while Izuku was powerless to do anything but watch. He’d try to scream but no sound would come out of his mouth. He’d try to defend his mentor, but his feet were weighed down by some unseen force.

Sometimes the nightmares got so vivid that Izuku would wake up screaming and crying, waking up his mother who would then try to comfort him, and Izuku hated that he was making her lose sleep as well. He was training to be a hero! He’s the one who should look after others, not the reverse!

Regardless, Izuku managed to somehow plow through the knowledge portions of the exam. But then came the practical…

Izuku and his classmates were all gathered at the center of the Practical Exam Area decked out on their hero outfits. The first hint that something was off was that several of the teachers were gathered there as well. And indeed, it turned out that the staff had decided to change the fight for the practical: instead of facing robots, the students would be working in pairs to fight against UA’s teachers. In order to pass the exam, the goal was to either apprehend the teacher using some special cuffs or to flee the battlefield.

And yes, Izuku and Kacchan were a pair, which in and of itself was already a worrying prospect due to how much the latter hated relying on others, but then the teacher they’d be fighting against turned out to be none other than All Might himself! At least, Izuku and Kacchan’s team would be the last to take their test, so there was ample time to try and talk things out and hopefully formulate a strategy. Also, to make sure that the students would stand a fighting chance, the teachers would be wearing ultra-compressed weights designed by the Support Course students, which would slow down the teachers’ movements and eat away at their stamina.

“What, you think I need a handicap to beat you?” said Kacchan “Think again!”

All Might laughed and gave the Typhlosion a surprisingly sinister grin “This should be fun…”

“Alright enough chitchat, it’s time to start the tests.” Said Aizawa-sensei “Sato, Kirishima, you two are up first, so head to the battle stage. The rest of you are free to either watch the fights or come up with a strategy as you wait for your turns.”

And with that, the teachers left to take their battle stations, leaving the students to decide what they wanted to do. Predictably, most teams decided to strategize, but Izuku was unable to even talk to Kacchan, as the latter simply stormed off without a word. So, with no other option, Izuku headed for the monitor room where Recovery Girl would be surveying everything, figuring that he could at least learn something by watching the fights. Thankfully, though, Izuku’s team wasn’t the only one with poor communication: Uraraka had decided to watch the fights too because Aoyama, who was her teammate, was far too preoccupied with his appearance to formulate a plan with his partner.

First up was Kirishima and Satou versus Cementoss, and right off the bat, the former made a big miscalculation by choosing to fight head on: Kirishima’s Bulk Up provided great offense and defense, but it was prone to getting worn down after repeated uses in quick succession; meanwhile, Satou had his Belly Drum, which maximized his physical power, but at the cost of cutting his stamina in half. In short, both their Quirks were ill-suited for drawn out fights, a drawback that Cementoss’s Stone Edge did not have. So in the end, while Kirishima and Satou did manage to pulverize the first several stone columns aimed at them, the Stonjourner ended up quickly and easily overpowering his students simply by sending wave after wave of Stone Edges until their Quirks finally gave out.

The second match was Tokoyami and Asui versus Ectoplasm, and it was easy to see why this matchup was chosen: Tokoyami’s Night Shade made him primarily a long-ranged fighter, while Asui could only fight in close quarters. Ectoplasm’s Double Team Quirk effectively made him a mix of both, as he could send his copies to great distances and they all had the same great fighting skill as the Gengar they originated from. Thankfully, Tokoyami and Asui had a much better thought-out plan than the team that had taken the exam before them, and made up for each other’s weaknesses by taking turns fighting off copies depending on who was better suited to take them on at the time; Tokoyami would fight copies attacking them from above, while Asui would take care of the ones approaching them on foot. The two finally found the original Ectoplasm, but the latter surprised them by creating a gigantic copy that trapped them both. Thanks to Asui’s quick thinking, though, Tokoyami was able to use Night Shade to cuff Ectoplasm, thus ending the exam with the students’ victory.

The third match was Iida and Ojiro versus Power Loader, and the Excadrill proved to be quite the tough opponent thanks to his ability to destabilize the ground, and since both Ojiro and Iida’s Quirks were at their most efficient on solid ground, this meant they soon found themselves trapped. Luckily, Iida found a way to pass the exam by using his Extremespeed to send Ojiro flying across the booby-trapped arena and into the exit. Since he and his teammate had passed by escaping instead of fighting, it was clear that the young Lucario had taken the lesson learned from the Hero Killer incident to heart.

The fourth match was Todoroki and Yaoyorozu versus Aizawa-sensei, which started out rather one-sided in the latter’s favor, as the Absol quickly ambushed and captured Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu wasn’t playing to her full extent of her capabilities: the overwhelming loss she’d suffered against Tokoyami in the Sports Festival had apparently dealt a huge blow to her self-confidence. Luckily, after some encouragement from Todoroki, Yaoyorozu demonstrated why she deserved to be a recommendations student when she quickly executed a plan to first release Todoroki from his bounds and then to capture Aizawa-sensei by making full use of both hers and her partner’s Quirks. In fact, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki ended up being the only team to completely immobilize their teacher before cuffing him.

The fifth match was Uraraka and Aoyama versus Thirteen, where at first the latter had the students cornered and helpless against Black Hole Eclipse, the only thing preventing them from being drawn to Thirteen being a railing that they had clung to… but then Uraraka suddenly let go and used the momentum to flip Thirteen onto their back and cuff them. Izuku had at first thought the move had been deliberate, but Asui, who had decided to join the monitor room along with several students who had already finished, pointed out that the Espurr letting go seemed to be more of a shocked reaction to something Aoyama had said. Huh, wonder what that was.

The sixth match was Ashido and Kaminari versus Principal Nezu, and that fight turned out to be somehow even more one-sided than Kirishima and Sato versus Cementoss had been: poor Ashido and Kaminari never even _saw_ their Togedemaru opponent, as Nezu quickly demonstrated the greatness of his strategic genius by using a crane to cause a chain reaction in the buildings of their battle arena that quickly left the Goodra and Pikachu trapped and unable to find the exit in time. Wise Glasses may not be a flashy Quirk, but when it made you _the smartest being in the world_ , who needed flashy?

The seventh fight was Jiro and Koda versus Present Mic, whose Boomburst made it hard for the students to even get close to him. Jiro tried to counter it with her Supersonic, but of course, Present Mic had the more potent sound Quirk. Jiro knew that their only real chance was for Koda to use his Grass Pledge, as he only needed one single opening to execute it, and with Present Mic frequently pausing in between attacks, there were plenty of openings. The problem was that Koda was extremely shy and didn’t like talking around other Pokémon, so he was hesitant at first. Thankfully, with some encouragement from Jiro, Koda gained enough courage to command the plants in the battle area to ensnare Present Mic and give Koda and Jiro the chance to escape.

The eight fight was Shoji and Hagakure versus Snipe, a tricky matchup, since neither student’s power were suited for long-range combat, while Snipe could easily hit them at a distance with his Snipe Shot, which the Inteleon could control the trajectory of. It took Shoji providing a distraction for Snipe so Hagakure could get close enough to cuff him.

The ninth match was Mineta and Sero versus Midnight, and Sero was taken out of the fight early by Sweet Scent, leaving Mineta to face Midnight alone. At first, the Pansage ran while screaming and crying blood, but this turned out to be at least partially a trick, since Mineta only acted that way to lure Midnight away from the exit so he could trap her with his Sticky Barbs and then rescue his sleeping partner so they could both escape. It surprised everyone in a good way that throughout the fight Mineta never tried to do anything perverted. It seems like Iida was not the only one who had learned a lesson.

Watching his classmates overcome not only their teachers but their inner demons to pass their exams filled Izuku with hope that maybe he and Kacchan would be able to do the same. So, with his vigor restored, Izuku headed for his designated arena to take his exam. His enthusiasm evaporated a bit when he saw Kacchan already waiting at the gates. The Typhlosion wasted no time in shooting Izuku a wrathful glare, making him flinch.

The gate to the battle arena opened and Kacchan was the first to walk inside, with Izuku following close behind. Their test had finally begun.

There was no sign of All Might as Izuku made their way across the battle arena, which had been built to resemble a city.

_I have to talk to him_ , Izuku thought as he watched Kacchan march forward, _We’re a team! We should be discussing this!_

“Kacchan!” Izuku called as he ran to catch up with the Typhlosion “Listen, for this exam the teachers are the villains and we’re the heroes, so we need a plan! Our villain is All Might, and that alone means fighting is out of the question! We can’t possibly win against him!”

“Stop following me!” Kacchan yelled as he walked faster to leave Izuku behind, but Izuku just picked up his pace too.

“All Might is probably waiting for us on this main road!” said Izuku “We should take another route!”

“Shut up!” Kacchan snarled “I’m not gonna run away from this fight! It’ll look better if we blast that smile off his face!”

“No!” cried Izuku “We should _avoid_ fighting him! He’ll wipe the floor with us!”

“He’ll wipe the floor with _you_! _I’m_ gonna toy with him until time is almost up and then knock him unconscious!” said Kacchan as he continued walking, not bothering to even glance at Izuku.

Izuku suppressed a groan. Kacchan was so stubborn! _Why do things always have to be so difficult between us?_

“Think about this!” Izuku ran ahead of Kacchan and placed himself in front of him, forcing the Typhlosion to stop walking “You know what All Might can do! Even with those weights as handicaps it’s impossible for you to beat him-AAH!”

Kacchan had silenced Izuku by striking him across the face with enough force to send him flying. Izuku stifled a whimper as he landed on the concrete with a thud, and for a moment the Eevee just lied there, trembling as he slowly turned his head to look at his aggressive teammate, who was glaring down at him.

“I don’t wanna hear another word!” Kacchan growled “Just because you think you’re getting stronger doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do!”

And with that, Kacchan walked around Izuku and resumed his trek towards the entrance and towards All Might.

“Wait! Kacchan!” Izuku called after him as he got back on his feet “I’m just trying to get us to pass the final! This is for both of us!”

Kacchan jerked his head around and yelled “I DON’T NEED YOU OR YOUR DUMB POWER TO PASS! I CAN WIN IT ALL BY MYSELF!”

Izuku finally lost his patience and raised his voice as well “WILL YOU STOP YELLING?! WHY CAN’T WE COMMUNICATE PROPERLY FOR ONCE?!”

At that moment, their discussion was halted by a sudden blast of wind so powerful it sent Izuku and Kacchan flying and caused massive damage to all the mock city’s structures in its wake. Massive clouds of dust and debris were lifted, obscuring Izuku and Kacchan’s field of vision, not than either of them needed to see to know that All Might had found them.

“K-Kacchan…” Izuku squeaked “d-do you hear boss music?”

“I _feel_ the boss music, Deku…”

As the dust cloud finally started to settle, Izuku and Kacchan could make out the silhouette of a massive, musclebound Jolteon approaching them.

“Who _cares_ if I destroy this city?” All Might bellowed as he emerged from the cloud, looking incredibly intimidating.

All Might stomped the ground with one of his powerful paws, lifting another gust of wind, though thankfully this one wasn’t nearly as strong as the first, as it didn’t destroy anything nor send Izuku and Kacchan flying again.

“If you think of this as an exam and not a real fight you’ll be sorry!” said All Might as he glared at the two students, his icy blue eyes appearing to glow with the intensity of his stare “I’m a villain now, heroes! Remember that! You better come at me with everything you’ve got!”

Izuku’s fur bristled with fear, every inch of his instincts screaming at him to run away. Right now, All Might reminded him of the Hero Killer with the level of menace the Jolteon was giving off. Somehow, this whole experience was making Izuku appreciate the fact that All Might was a hero even more: if the Jolteon had chosen the path of villainy with the level of power he possessed, chances are the world would never recover…

“It’s over if we fight him head on! Let’s run!” cried Izuku as he turned and prepared to bolt away. But of course, Kacchan didn’t listen and stood his ground as All Might lunged at them.

“HOW ABOUT A STUNNING LAVA PLUME?!” Kacchan unleashed a huge blast of Lava Plume at All Might, who predictably was barely fazed and simply bit down onto the young Typhlosion’s neck and slammed him into the ground.

“Your blast was weak! Hardly more than a sting!” the Jolteon said mockingly.

Izuku gulped and tried to back away, but of course All Might immediately noticed him and in the blink of an eye had sped to block the young Eevee’s escape.

“Where are _you_ going?” said All Might “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you already, young Midoriya. Are you really planning to abandon your teammate?”

Izuku didn’t answer, but instead activated Extreme Evoboost to jump out of All Might’s reach as fast as possible.

“Wait! Deku-!”

Kacchan’s warning came too late, and the two young Pokémon collided into each other. Kacchan had tried to attack All Might from above just as Izuku had jumped backwards to try and escape. One Pokémon wanted to fight, the other wanted to flee, and their lack of agreement was really starting to work against the students.

As soon as they had picked themselves off the ground, Kacchan tried to engage All Might again.

“Kacchan, wait!” Izuku called after him “You can’t fight him!”

“Shut up!” Kacchan snarled “I _will_ win this! That’s what it takes to be a hero, Deku!”

“At least we should try to avoid him-!”

“Incoming heroes! I have a gift! For the one who wants to run!” All Might suddenly jumped from above and slammed a piece of broken railing into Izuku’s back, pinning him to the ground and immobilizing him. Then Kacchan tried to attack All Might again, but the pro-hero was just too fast, headbutting the young Typhlosion in the stomach so hard he literally made him lose his lunch and sent him tumbling several meters across the ground.

“Kacchan!” Izuku cried as he struggled to free himself from the railing pinning him against the ground to no avail.

“I know why you’re so angry, young Bakugo.” Said All Might as he approached the fallen Typhlosion “It’s because of Midoriya’s sudden improvement, right? But you have to remember each of your rankings when you both first started the school year: young Midoriya was only a fledgling still struggling to properly control his power, while you had already practically mastered yours prior to enrolling in UA, and improvement is much more noticeable when you’re a novice! But that doesn’t mean you don’t have any more room to improve yourself, kiddo! You have so much potential for growth, and not just your Quirk! Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Shut up, All Might…” Kacchan growled as he struggled to lift himself off the ground “If I’m so bad that I have to get help from a weakling like him… then, I’d rather lose this… do you hear me?”

Kacchan’s words echoed inside Izuku’s head. “I’d rather lose this.” That’s what he’d said. Except that was so unlike Kacchan! Ever since he was a little Cyndaquil, he’d always been obsessed with winning no matter what! He wasn’t someone who liked giving up! Angrily, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and finally broke free from the railing and lunged.

“Don’t you _dare_ say you’d rather lose! Let’s win this, Kacchan!” Izuku cried as he tackled the Typhlosion hard enough to send them both flying into a nearby alleyway, out of All Might’s reach.

“What the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing, Deku?!” cried the Typhlosion as he got back to his feet and glared down at the much tinier Eevee. Izuku stood defiant, however.

“Kacchan, how can you say that you’re okay with losing?!” said Izuku, glaring right back at him “I know you! And you’re not someone to just… give up! You’re someone who always fights for the victory to the bitter end! So… you should at the very least let my _try_ to use my power to help us win!”

For a moment, Kacchan did nothing but stare. Then, he instantly brought down an ignited paw on Izuku, who only had time to flinch and close his eyes shut… but the burning heat and pain he was expecting never came. Instead, Kacchan had slammed his paw down next to Izuku, deliberately missing him by a and leaving the concrete cracked and burnt.

“I won’t say it again so listen, you useless nerd!” Kacchan growled from some point above Izuku’s head. “All Might’s speed is insane. He’ll catch up to us no matter where we try to run. We can’t avoid fighting him.”

Izuku stared up at Kacchan, wrinkling his nose slightly at the Typhlosion’s breath “Yeah, but we don’t stand a chance in combat! I mean, back there you-”

“SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE I KILL YOU!”

Izuku immediately closed his muzzle shut.

“All Might won’t be stopped by anything less than a full power attack.” Kacchan continued “I learned that earlier from fighting him: my Stunning Lava Plume didn’t do any real damage, but it did manage to slow him down just a smidge, so, here’s what we’re going to do: you remember how my gauntlets were designed to store my flammable sweat and unleash it as a giant blast.”

Izuku nodded.

“Figured you would.” Kacchan grumbled “Anyway, we’ll use my gauntlets to unleash a giant monster blast at point-blank range on All Might, then put as much distance between him and us as we can.”

So, it was a compromise between fight and flight, then. Izuku nodded. “I like that plan.”

Kacchan made a face.

“Unfortunately, I can’t pull that kind of stunt alone… so _I guess_ I’ll be needing your hh-your _hhe-ee-eelp_.” Kacchan slurred that last word as though it was physically painful for him to say. The Typhlosion gritted his teeth “I can’t believe I’m gonna have to work with YOU of all Pokémon, Deku…”

* * *

When the duo located All Might, Kacchan was the first to ambush him: he attacked with several blasts on the Jolteon to distract him so that Izuku could get in close and use one of Kacchan’s fully-loaded gauntlets to unleash the giant monster blast. Because Izuku was so much smaller than Kacchan, he couldn’t actually wear his gauntlet, so instead he wielded it like a bazooka, and it was very difficult to aim that way, but somehow Izuku managed to land his mark.

“I’m sorry, All Might!” the young Eevee managed to say before pulling the pin off to shoot.

The recoil of the blast was so great Izuku was sent flying and had to drop the gauntlet. He was surprised by how strong Kacchan’s arms had to be to withstand such force.

“Run, you idiot!” cried Kacchan as he quickly sped by propelling himself with his explosions, only briefly stopping to quickly pick up his gauntlet from the ground.

“R-right!” Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and quickly caught up with him.

The duo kept running for some time, not daring to stop or turn around and see if All Might was chasing them. As they ran across the city, the two young Pokémon observed how All Might’s first attack had been powerful enough to reach even as far as they’d made it. Then at long last, they saw a gate in the horizon.

“We’re almost to the exit!” Izuku said in between heavy breaths “We just need to cross it and we’ll pass! And it doesn’t look like All Might is chasing us! I just hope we didn’t unintentionally knock him out back there…”

“Of course not!” Kacchan snapped at him “You were the one whining about how it’d be impossible for us to beat him! There’s no way that attack KO’d him, but when he catches up to us it’ll be _my_ turn to blast him to hell with a gauntlet!”

“Interesting! And then what will you do?” The smiling face of an enormous, musclebound Jolteon suddenly popped between them. They hadn’t even noticed, and All Might had caught up with them already.

Kacchan tried to blast All Might, but the latter quickly destroyed his gauntlets by destroying them in a single bite of his powerful jaws each, in quick succession.

“All right, heroes!” All Might bellowed “Time for you both to DIE!”

All Might delivered a powerful kick to Kacchan, sending him flying and crashing into a building.

“Kacchan!” Izuku cried as he rushed in to try and help his partner, only for All Might to grab him by the tail.

Kacchan recovered quickly and came blasting through the wreckage, only for All Might to use Izuku as a battering ram and slamming him onto the Typhlosion’s head, thereby knocking him to the ground and pinning him underneath a massive paw. Izuku was left thoroughly dazed by the impact, his body aching all over.

“Ah, well isn’t that wonderful, boys?” All Might said, his voice slightly muffled from holding onto Izuku’s tail “You managed to cooperate, however reluctantly, so you could face me together! Unfortunately, that won’t be enough: cooperation was not an option, but a prerequisite for this exam!”

Izuku desperately flailed and squirmed and kicked at All Might’s face trying to break free from the Jolteon’s grasp to no avail. Then, All Might tossed him aside, and Izuku tumbled across the ground a few times before coming to a stop.

“You planned to get away from me using maximum firepower and then make a run for the escape gate!” said All Might “A pretty decent strategy, all things considered, but now that I’ve destroyed young Bakugo’s gauntlets you’ve lost your heavy attacks and have been rendered helpless. This is over.”

Just then, Kacchan managed to turn slightly and aim a paw at All Might “SHUT! UUUUP!”

Kacchan unleashed a giant blast of Lava Plume, which knocked All Might off him and caused copious amounts of smoke to surround the area. Izuku couldn’t see a thing.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab him by the back of his neck. Kacchan lifted him up to face level and said:

“Get ready to fly! I hate the idea of running but with the crapfest we’re in this is the only way for us to pass the practical! Now DIE!”

_Die?!_ Was all that Izuku could think before he was brusquely thrown towards the escape gate. Now that he had that in his sights, though, Izuku steeled himself and prepared to land cross the exit. Unfortunately, All Might quickly recovered from Kacchan’s blast and propelled himself towards Izuku, landing a painful headbutt onto the Eevee’s back (and Izuku could feel his spine crack from the impact) and sending him crashing into the ground below.

“Come now, you’re being too naïve, heroes!” All Might said as he landed.

“The one being naïve here is you!” Kacchan cried as he rushed towards All Might, his paws ignited “Those gauntlets I wore were only so I could use maximum firepower without risk! But now I see that was stupid: if I don’t take risks, there’s no way I can beat you!”

Kacchan unleashed a giant point-blank Lava Plume blast, then he winced and grabbed his wrists. “DEKU! GO! HURRY UP!”

Watching Kacchan fight through the pain gave Izuku the motivation to get up and march to the escape gate despite his injured back. It was a slow and painful trek, and Kacchan kept having to continually block All Might with full-power Lava Plumes so that Izuku would have a chance to escape.

Suddenly, Izuku heard a loud crash, and the sound of explosions ceased. When the Eevee turned his head to look, he saw that All Might had powered through Kacchan’s Lava Plume assaults and knocked him down once again. This time, though, all the damage the young Typhlosion had taken had finally caught up to him, and Kacchan could no longer muster enough energy to execute even a tiny ember.

…but despite that Kacchan kept being defiant. He was too weak now to do any damage of note, but he still kept fighting, vainly scratching and gnawing at All Might’s paw. _This_ is the Kacchan that Izuku knew.

“I’ll keep fighting… even if it breaks me… I’ll win the way I want to!” cried the Typhlosion just before he lost consciousness.

Upon witnessing this, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and dashed, ignoring the agonizing pain in his back. Not towards the escape gate, but towards All Might and Kacchan. The young Eevee wasn’t going to leave his childhood friend behind, even if this was just a simulation, and even if said childhood friend had grown into a complete jerk. Abandoning a Pokémon in need was just something Izuku couldn’t bring himself to do. Izuku remembered All Might’s words.

“When you’re scared or nervous about a fight, just try to deal with it by smiling!”

And that’s exactly what Izuku did. It probably didn’t look as big or bright or confident as All Might’s smile, but he still managed it.

“Please stand aside! Move, All Might!” Izuku said before delivering an Extreme Evoboosted paw strike to All Might’s face, making him loosen his grip on Kacchan and allowing Izuku to grab him and make a run for the exit.

Kacchan was much bigger and heavier than Izuku; the young Eevee couldn’t even carry him and had to drag him instead. It didn’t matter, though, what mattered was that Izuku crossed the escape gate with his teammate. The pain on Izuku’s back was getting more intense the faster he ran, but Izuku powered through it and crossed the exit gate with the unconscious Kacchan in tow, just before time ran out.

_Team Midoriya and Bakugo have passed the exam!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note about picture: Bakugo isn't small for a Typhlosion, All Might's just humongous for a Jolteon.


	22. Yes, His Teeth and Abitions are Bared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...be prepared?

Weeks had passed since the Hero Killer incident but talk about him was still going strong: he was the subject of night show talks, gossip magazines, conspiracy theory blogs, countless fanfics of every genre ranging from creepypastas to shoujo-esque romances, and numerous videos on PokéTube (not counting the one with real footage of him, of course), including one from Bulbafeed Unsolved! The public’s current obsession with that deranged Bisharp drove Tomura up the wall.

“Why is _he_ the only thing everyone’s talking about?!” Tomura growled as he clawed at his neck. “What about my Type: Nulls?! _They_ caused the greater damage that night, so how could they have possibly been overshadowed by some delusional nobody who didn’t even manage to kill his targets?!”

It didn’t help the Grimmsnarl’s frustration that he’d been monitoring the night’s events, and that he’d witnessed one of the Type: Nulls being stabbed to death by the Hero Killer. And of course, that Eevee, Izuku Midoriya, had been there too because why the hell not: apparently the universe just really felt like pissing off Tomura that day, so it had conspired to gather nearly all the things he hated most on one single place.

The Grimmsnarl’s thoughts were then promptly interrupted by the sound of the bar’s door opening. Tomura and Kurogiri, who had been at the other side of the counter silently taking sips from his drink, turned around to see a Grumpig smiling at them as he removed the cigar from his mouth.

“Hey, Shigaraki, my mon!” said the Grumpig.

“Don’t ‘my mon’ me right now, Giran.” Tomura said with a slight groan. “Just tell me if you brought in any recruits...”

“Oh but I do!" Giran said brightly.

The Grumpig then stepped back and gestured to someone Tomura couldn’t see from his position to come inside. Then, a Kantonian Ninetales walked in. His fur was silvery grey… at least, what was left of it, as this Ninetales had several third-degree burns on his body that had left huge patches of his skin furless and horrifically charred, mostly in the upper half of his body, which included his face, giving it a vaguely skull-like look. His tails had also been burned, with only a few odd patches of fur remaining here and there. It was weird to see a Fire-type burned this badly: usually those had some degree of resistance to fire and heat, even if they didn’t possess a fire Quirk themselves. Behind the Ninetales a young-looking Zorua with blonde locks of fur walked in and stood next to him.

“Wow,” said the Ninetales as he looked Tomura up and down, his blue eyes flickering with amusement “I had seen pictures of you before, and I gotta say, they _really_ don’t do your ugliness justice. Seriously, is that your actual hair, or did you just glue dirty strands of mop to your body?”

“Ooh, I’m so happy to finally meet you, Facepalm-kun!” the Zorua said as she bounded up and down giggling excitedly “I hope we can be the bestest of friends!”

Tomura stared at the duo of fox Pokémon with disgust. _These_ were the best potential new recruits a “respected broker” like Giran had been able to find? The Zorua was clearly an insane idiot, while the Ninetales had no manners to speak of. Tomura was already in a bad mood, but these guys had somehow managed to piss him off even more with literally the first thing that had come out of their mouths! The Grimmsnarl could already tell that working with these two would be a pain in the neck, so he turned to his Spiritomb subordinate.

“Kurogiri, get rid of these two. _Now_. I’ve spent less than a minute with them and already I feel like I’ve aged ten years from sheer stress.”

“Oh, don’t be that way, Tomura Shigaraki.” Said Kurogiri “These two came all the way here, it would be rude to turn them away before they can properly prove themselves. Just give them a chance.”

“By the way, I still expect you to pay me, even if they don’t suit your fancy.” Said Giran, smoke from his cigarette puffing out. “Here, I’ll introduce them to you before I go.”

Giran gestured to the Zorua “This one may only be a high schooler, but don’t let her age or cute looks fool you: she’s the prime suspect of a series of deaths where all the victims bled out.”

The Zorua gave Tomura a wide smile “My name’s Toga! Himiko Toga! You’re Stainy’s BFF, right? So cool! I wanna be Stainy! I wanna kill Stainy! Let me join your League of Villains, Facepalm-kun, pretty pleeeeeeaaaase?”

If Tomura wasn’t already wearing a hand on his face, he would have facepalmed for real, risk of disintegration be damned. Not only was this brat an insane idiot, she was an insane idiot who _idolized the Hero Killer_! Seriously, if Tomura heard that stupid Bisharp’s name one more Arceusdamn time…

“What. The fuck. Giran.” Tomura said with a strained voice, not bothering to conceal his anger.

“Come now, Shigaraki” Giran laughed “I know she may seem a little crazy, but at least she can hold a conversation! Besides, the fact that she’s already got numerous kills under her belt despite being so young means she could be quite useful.”

“…well, what about that asshole over there?” said Tomura as he pointed to the Ninetales.

“Oh,” said Giran “this one hasn’t committed any flashy crimes yet, but… well, just _look_ at him! He’s scary as fuck!”

“Which makes the fact that he called me ugly all the more hypocritical!” Tomura snapped “I mean, really, does he even know what mirrors are and what they’re for?!”

“Scary and ugly are not synonymous, mop-for-hair.” Said the Ninetales, flicking his tails “Unlike you, I’m scary in a cool way, and used to be quite the looker before _this_ ” he gestured to his burns “happened to me. You on the other hand clearly hatched out of the egg a mistake of nature. But whatever, your looks aren’t important, what’s important is whether you truly adhere to Stain’s noble mission or not, and frankly, I’m not getting a good impression here. I mean, if this little psycho here” the Ninetales gestured to Toga with one of his tails “is going to join you, you’re clearly not taking Stain’s ideology seriously.”

“Oh, grow up!” cried Tomura, enraged that this guy was _yet another_ Stain sympathizer “The Zorua may be a psycho, but at least she knows how to introduce herself! You, meanwhile, haven’t even told us your name! Unless you’re such a nobody that you don’t even have one, that is.”

“Right now, I’m going by ‘Dabi’.” The Ninetales said plainly.

“No, I want your _real_ name.” said Tomura, his irritation growing even more. These two foxes may not be as annoying as that Eevee, Izuku Midoriya, but _by Arceus_ , they were starting to get there!

“You don’t need to know my real name right now.” Dabi said with a scoff “In any case, I’m here to carry out the Hero Killer Stain’s will. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Okay, why the _hell_ is everyone so hung up on Stain?!” Tomura stood up, fuming with anger “He’s all I’ve heard about for _weeks_! In. A. Fucking. ROW! Day in, day out it’s Stain this, Stain that, Stain, Stain, STAIN! IT’S REALLY PISSING ME OFF!”

“Wait! Calm down! Don’t-!” Kurogiri began, but Tomura ignored him.

“ _YOU TWO ARE DONE_!!” Tomura lunged at Toga and Dabi, ready to turn them to dust. The Ninetales and Zorua didn’t miss a beat, though, as they went on the offensive: bright blue fire was coming out of Dabi’s mouth, while Toga bared her claws and readied a slash.

Several portals of black mist suddenly manifested in the middle of the room, diverting all attacks away from their targets.

“I said, _calm yourself_ , Tomura Shigaraki.” Kurogiri said sternly, holding the three younger Pokémon at bay. Giran meanwhile continued to smoke his cigarette and watched the whole scene with a wide smile on his face, clearly having the time of his life.

“If your desire is to be realized, then we must increase our numbers!” said Kurogiri “So I advise you to be more accepting.”

The Spiritomb then extended his wisplike head around Tomura and whispered into his ear “You must use them, and the ideology Stain left behind. This is a golden opportunity, Tomura Shigaraki, don’t waste it over something as petty as being annoyed.”

And with that, Kurogiri dissipated his portals, and everyone calmed down a little. Well, okay, everyone but Tomura. He was still angry, and the fact that he’d been denied the chance to put these stupid foxes in their place wasn’t helping matters.

“I’m outta here.” Said the Grimmsnarl as he grabbed a hoodie that he wore whenever he needed to go out incognito and stormed out of the bar and slammed the door behind him as hard as he could.

Tomura took off his hand mask and stashed it away in one of his pockets and walked aimlessly for a while, trying to clear his head. Tomura knew that Kurogiri was right: appropriating Stain’s ideology to the League of Villain’s advantage would make it stronger by attracting more followers, but… Tomura just couldn’t stand the guy! He’d one-upped him not once, but twice, so having to rely on him to make _Tomura’s_ League stronger only added insult to injury.

 _How is it that the Hero Killer has so many sympathizers while I’m playing second fiddle?_ Thought a frustrated Tomura. _Aren’t we doing the same thing? We both try to destroy the things we hate!_

As he continued walking, Tomura suddenly noticed that the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall was right across the street. Why he’d gone in this direction, he had no idea, but the Grimmsnarl figured he might as well have a look around. Maybe nab a tasty snack or two.

It was crowded today. No surprise there, as it was a day off and there were plenty of summer sales. Still, it annoyed Tomura greatly that all these Pokémon could just hang out here and act like nothing was wrong when out there in the real world someone was either getting killed or suffering in some form. It was disgusting how selfish and blind everyone was.

“Oh, sweet, Hero Killer gear!”

“Won’t we get in trouble if we wear this, though?”

“Yes. Yes, we will. So worth it, though.”

Tomura turned his head towards the direction of the voices and saw two teenaged Zigzagoons, one Hoennese and one Galarian, marveling at a store with some Hero Killer merch.

Tomura did a double take. Merchandise. Stain had _merchandise_. Actual merchandise which was being displayed and sold at a mall where hundreds of Pokémon shopped daily like it was the most natural thing in the world. It took every ounce of willpower in the Grimmsnarl’s body not to fly into a rage and make a scene.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Tomura saw a familiar bundle of messy green fur. Well, well, well, this day suddenly got _much_ more interesting.

Tomura smiled inwardly as he slowly and discreetly approached the unsuspecting Eevee.

_*UA, one day earlier*_

It was the day after the final exams, and all of Class 1-A was looking forward to hearing the results… well, everyone except Kirishima, Satou, Kaminari, and Ashido, who had all failed the practical.

“E- _*sniff*_ -everyone! I’m loo- _*sob*_ -looking forward to hearing about summer c-camp!” wailed a teary-eyed Ashido. The other three nodded solemnly, their eyes looking pretty watery as well.

“Um, maybe they’ll end up letting you go?” Izuku said hopefully, trying to cheer them up “Like a last-minute plot twist or something!”

“Midoriya, don’t say that out loud or you’ll jinx it!” said Sero as he walked over to the group. “Besides, I probably won’t get to go either: Mineta’s the one who did most of the job while I got knocked out early…”

Just then, Aizawa-sensei entered the classroom, and everyone instantly went quiet and was back on their seats.

“Morning, kids.” Said Aizawa-sensei as he walked over to the front of the class “I have bad news: there are several of you who didn’t pass your final exams, so when it comes to the summer camp…”

The four who didn’t pass the practical were so tense that the entire class could feel them brace themselves.

Aizawa-sensei smiled a wide, toothy grin “…Everyone is going!”

“Holy shit, Midoriya you’re a prophet! It’s a last-minute plot twist like you said!” cried Kaminari as he pumped both fists joyfully into the air.

“Then we really get to go?” asked Kirishima.

“Yeah.” Said Aizawa-sensei “Although nobody failed the knowledge portions, five of you failed the practical. Obviously, the teams of Kirishima and Satou and Kaminari and Ashido, but Sero failed as well due to not doing enough in the practical to warrant a passing grade.”

“Darn, I knew it!” Sero slammed at his desk in frustration.

“Here’s the thing,” said Aizawa-sensei “this summer camp we’re taking you to is a training camp: you’ll be spending an entire week honing your Quirks and overall combat skills, so naturally those who failed the exams need this camp the most. The part about missing camp if you failed was just a logical deception we used to make sure you kids gave it your all.”

Most of the class groaned internally at this except the five who failed the practical. They groaned externally.

“AAARGH, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!” said Kirishima as he angrily bit a pencil in half “He did this exact same thing before! Why didn’t we notice?!”

“Aizawa-sensei, this is the second time you’ve ‘logically’ deceived us!” Iida protested “Aren’t you afraid that you might lose our trust?”

“You make a good point, Iida. I’ll keep that in mind.” Aizawa-sensei smirked slightly, which unnerved the class greatly.

“…Guys, I’m so sorry, I feel like I just unleashed something terrible upon us…” Iida whimpered as he covered his face with his paws.

“However, here comes the part where I talk about the thing that _wasn’t_ a lie.” Aizawa-sensei suddenly glared at the class “Those who failed the exam _will_ have to take extra lessons in conjunction with the camp. You’ll have to endure considerably more stress and work than the rest of your peers.”

After that, the rest of the class day proceeded without any more surprises, and despite the knowledge of the extra lessons for the students who had failed, pretty soon everyone’s spirits were high again in anticipation of the upcoming camp, and by the time classes were over, everyone was talking about it again.

“Hey guys, I just had the greatest idea!” said Hagakure “Why don’t we all go shopping together? We’re going to need to prepare for camp, so we might as well!”

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Kaminari smiled. “Especially since we haven’t hung out as a class since the arcade!”

“Yeah, and the only two Pokémon missing were Bakugo and Todoroki!” said Kirishima “They have to come with us this time!”

On cue, Kacchan grabbed his backpack and walked out of the classroom “I can’t imagine anything more annoying.” he said right before he closed the door.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to miss out too.” Said Todoroki “Tomorrow I visit my mother at the hospital.”

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me! The _exact same_ two students that didn’t come the first time are gonna skip _another hangout_?!” cried Mineta “Do Fire-types just hate the concept of fun or something?!”

_*The next day*_

Everyone arrived at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall on time. Izuku was excited to get to hang out with his classmates again, end even more exciting was the fact that they were still being recognized for the Sports Festival, so there was no shortage of Pokémon approaching the group to compliment or congratulate them. Izuku found that it was a lot less nerve-wrecking to deal with an adulating crowd when he was with his friends. Unfortunately, because everyone needed to get different things for camp, the group quickly decided to split up, leaving only Izuku and Uraraka in the main plaza.

“…Looks like it’s just you and me left.” Said Izuku, shocked about how quickly the group had decided to disband.

“…Yeah.” Said Uraraka, sounding just as stunned.

“So, um… what are you gonna shop for today?” said Izuku, figuring that the two might as well shop together “I’m trying to find a heavier Macho Brace so I can up my training.”

“I mostly just need fur conditioner.” Uraraka answered “You know, to prevent matting, since we are going to the woods and all…”

The Espurr suddenly trailed off and adopted a somehow even more shocked expression, bordering on panic, and Izuku even though for a moment that the pink spots on her cheeks somehow managed to turn even redder.

“Yeah! That’s it! Gotta keep the filth away!” Uraraka suddenly shrieked as she hid her face and just… _bolted_ , leaving Izuku thoroughly confused and alone.

“We came together as a class, but here I am all by myself…” Izuku sighed. What a bummer…

“Oh, a student from UA! You’re the Eevee who beat himself up at the Sports Festival, right? Awesome, I want your autograph!”

Next thing Izuku knew, he was hoisted up into someone’s arms and given a noogie. Whoever this fan was, they were big. Strangely, they were also wearing a jacket, quite unusual not just because Pokémon rarely wore clothes as is, but the current summer weather made a jacket quite a strange choice of wear. That said, there was something strangely familiar about their voice, but Izuku couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Where had he heard that voice before?

“If I’m not mistaken, you’re also one of the students that bumped into the Hero Killer in Hosu, right?” said the voice “Wow, isn’t that awesome? Good for you! You’re a famous little fluffball!”

“Wow, you sure do know a lot!” said Izuku as he tried to discreetly free himself from the bigger Pokémon’s grip. He still couldn’t believe how much notoriety he was getting right now… seriously, though, that voice was _so familiar_. What gives?

“What can I say, I’m just _such a big fan_ of yours.” said the voice, which suddenly sounded far raspier and more unfriendly and tightened his grasp around Izuku’s neck “I can’t believe I’m running into you again. It’s almost like this is destiny.”

Izuku’s heart skipped a beat. That rasp. He recognized that voice now. Fearfully, Izuku slowly turned his head to look up at the Pokémon holding him in his clutches, and sure enough, he was greeted by the horrifyingly chapped face of a Grimmsnarl with the most unfriendly smile Izuku had ever seen.

“You haven’t seen me since the attack on UA, right? Let’s catch up, Izuku Midoriya.”

“Tomura… Shigaraki…” Izuku managed to whisper. Although this was the first time he’d seen the Grimmsnarl without his creepy hand-mask, there was no mistaking the matted hair sticking out from underneath the hood, nor those red hatred-filled eyes.

“Now, if you’re smart, then you’ll act natural and won’t make a scene.” Said Shigaraki “I’m just an old friend who bumped into you and is being overly affectionate. So, calm down and wipe that scared look off your face. I just want to talk. Try to escape or fight me… well, it’ll be fast: as soon as all my fingers touch your neck, your throat will be the first thing to disintegrate. In a matter of seconds, you’ll be nothing more than a sad, tiny pile of dust and powdered bone.”

“If you do that here where there are so many Pokémon present, a hero will come and catch you in no time. You wouldn’t be able to escape!” Izuku pointed out, hoping he sounded braver and more defiant than he felt.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” Shigaraki smirked “However, there would still be enough of a time gap between your demise and the heroes’ arrival for me to take more victims!”

Shigaraki then gestured at the mall, pointing out just how many Pokémon were currently present, and none noticing that there was a hostage situation happening right in front of them.

“Just look at all these hapless idiots,” he said “smiling and going about their day like everything is fine and dandy to the point that I can dangle you like this in plain sight and they haven't even noticed! Clearly nobody here expects anything bad to happen to them. After you I could kill twenty, thirty, maybe even more before any heroes managed to stop me!”

With every word that Shigaraki uttered, Izuku’s fear grew ever larger. The young Eevee strained to suppress his trembling as much as possible, and he didn’t dare to move a muscle as Shigaraki continued to dangle him by the neck. But what really terrified Izuku was that even though Shigaraki currently had him captured, the real hostages were everyone else at the mall… including Izuku’s classmates, who were still out there shopping, oblivious to the danger. Izuku’s paw pads were sweating so much that they felt like they were liquifying.

“Of course, we can’t have a conversation like this.” Said Shigaraki as he started to walk away “Here, I’ll find us somewhere comfortable.”

Pretty soon, Shigaraki found a bench and sat down, keeping his grip on Izuku’s neck firm.

“When it comes down to it, I hate basically everything.” Said Shigaraki, keeping his voice low so none of the Pokémon strolling by would hear.

 _…You don’t say._ Izuku thought. Really, given the Grimmsnarl’s overall personality and behavior, him hating everything was kind of obvious.

“But right now,” Shigaraki continued “the Hero Killer pisses me off more than anything.”

Upon hearing this, surprise intermingled with Izuku’s fear. “Wait, I thought he was one of your allies?”

“Not technically, but that’s what the media made it look like.” Said Shigaraki, his voice dripping with venom “And that’s what my problem is! Even though everyone thinks the Hero Killer is part of my League of Villains, he’s still the one that gets the most spotlight! I hate how everyone is so obsessed with that stupid Bisharp to the point that he has actual. Licensed. _Merchandise!_ What about me? What about my attack on UA? What about the Type: Null rampage that I unleashed on Hosu? Why is nobody giving me a second thought? _How did he upstage me?_ All that the Hero Killer really did was trying to get rid of things that he didn’t like, just like me!”

Shigaraki lifted Izuku so that their faces were next to each other and grinned mirthlessly. “Tell me, Midoriya, what do you think the difference between us is? Me and the Hero Killer, that is.”

Izuku didn’t answer right away. He could tell that despite his hostility, Shigaraki was asking an honest question, and was thus expecting an honest answer. Still, this whole situation felt like trying to disarm a bomb: Izuku feared that if he worded his response poorly, then he might endanger the lives of every Pokémon at the mall, including his friends.

Shiragarki squeezed Izuku’s neck slightly, just enough to startle him.

“My patience is running thin, brat.” Said the Grimmsnarl “You better give me an answer right now or I’ll kill you and any pathetic idiot within my reach.”

Izuku winced. Well… here goes nothing…

“The difference between you and the Hero Killer is that while I don’t agree with either of your actions or goals, I at least understand the latter.” Izuku said shakily “See, the Hero Killer is motivated by All Might… just like I am. The night of the attack on Hosu, the Hero Killer even saved me from a Type: Null, so he clearly doesn’t just destroy things aimlessly like you do. That, and when things were looking bad for him, the Hero Killer didn’t just abandon his self-imposed mission like you did. Instead, he held true to his beliefs. _That’s_ the difference.”

Shigaraki tightened his grip on Izuku’s neck, which initially made Izuku think that his words had enraged the Grimmsnarl. At least, until he looked at his face and realized that Shigaraki was smiling, and this was a smile of _happiness_. Somehow, though, it managed to be far, _far_ more terrifying than any of the intentionally sinister grins Shigaraki had pulled until then.

“Ah, that’s like a weight off my chest!” said Shigaraki “I see it now! Why the Hero Killer makes me so angry. Why you irritate me so much. _The problem is All Might_! _He’s_ why all these morons are able to smile so thoughtlessly! They feel so safe because that garbage pro smiles thoughtlessly too, as though there’s no Pokémon in the world he can’t save! I’m so glad we had this conversation, Izuku Midoriya!”

With every word, Shigaraki’s grip on Izuku’s neck got stronger and stronger until Izuku couldn’t breathe. Instinctively, Izuku closed his eyes shut and struggled, gagged, and squirmed, but Shigaraki’s grasp was not relenting.

“Whoa, careful there. You might turn to dust.” The Grimmsnarl said mockingly “Do you want any of these Pokémon to crumble as well while we’re at it?”

“Deku!”

Izuku abruptly stopped struggling and opened his eyes to see a frightened Uraraka staring at him and Shigaraki.

“H-hey! L-let go of him…” she said, as she took a few tentative steps forward. Izuku’s stomach dropped. No! If Uraraka tried to defend him, Shigaraki would just kill them both!

“Stay away! Everything’s fine!” Izuku cried, _begged_.

And then, Shigaraki let Izuku go. The Eevee dropped to the floor with a thud, and all he could do was lay there gasping for air.

“Oh! You’re here with a friend? I’m so sorry, I had no idea! I’ll be off, then.” Shigaraki said in a faux friendly tone. Then, he crouched down to the floor.

“Don’t you dare try to follow me or I’ll get angry.” Shigaraki whispered into Izuku’s ear as the Eevee coughed and wheezed. “But before I go, let me offer you one last piece of advice: watch your back. Because the next time we cross paths, I’ll likely have to kill you.”

And with that, Shigaraki walked away and disappeared among the bustling crowd of Pokémon. Uraraka ran over to Izuku’s side and helped him up.

“Are you okay?!” she said, voice filled with fear and concern “Oh my Arceus… I’ll call the others!”

After that, the rest of the day went by in a terrifying blur. Uraraka reported the incident to the authorities, causing the mall to be temporarily closed. Police and heroes conducted a sweep of the area, but they found no trace of Shigaraki. Izuku was taken to the police station so he could be interviewed properly and give as much information about Shigaraki as he could. By the time the interview was finished, it was already nighttime.

All Might arrived at the police station right after the interview was over, and Izuku took the opportunity to ask the Symbol of Peace a troubling question he’d had on his mind since Shigaraki’s speech of realization.

“All Might… are there ever times when you can’t save all the Pokémon that you want to?”

All Might gave Izuku a sad look.

“Yes, I do.” He said “And often. Right this second there could be a Pokémon in need crying for my help anywhere in the world and I’d have no way of knowing. That’s the hardest part about being a hero: you can’t always be there to save everybody. But I’d say that it’s all the more reason to stand tall and smile. That way, the Symbol of Peace can always be there, maybe not physically, but in spirit.”

Izuku carefully considered All Might’s words. It was a frustrating topic to think about, the possibility of not just failing to save someone in need, but never even trying… simply because of not knowing that there was ever someone in need in the first place. Of course, All Might had never failed to save anyone whenever he arrived at a crisis, but not even he could be everywhere at once.

Right after that short conversation, Izuku’s mother arrived. Tears of fear and concern were streaming down her face, and the first thing she did upon seeing her son was run up to him and pull him into an embrace, wrapping her forked tail around him. The Espeon sobbed uncontrollably, telling Izuku that she didn’t think she’d be able to handle another scare. Izuku tried to comfort her, reassure her that he was unharmed and that the authorities had taken care of him. The two went home, escorted by an officer.

That night, Izuku couldn’t sleep. What would Shigaraki’s next move be? And what was his master, the enigmatic All for One, after?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Sorry about the lack of pictures on this chapter. I was drawing a couple but unfortunately I couldn't finish them in time. I'll just have to add them later.~~ On the bright side, this is not the only chapter that I'll be posting today!
> 
> EDIT: Picture is up!


	23. The Curse of Futaba (Halloween Special)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everyone! I decided to post two chapters today because of the spooky holiday, which just so happens to be one of my favorites. This one is just a short story involving humans and ancient curses that takes place about five years before the main story’s beginning.

“All right, kids, we’re here!” said the class’s Ampharos teacher.

A group of about a dozen or so Pokémon kids stared at the building in front of them in awe: the museum was a lot bigger than any of them had imagined.

“Now, remember,” said the teacher “Walk behind me, don’t run, don’t scream, and stick with the group at all times.”

“Yes, Hikari-sensei.” the class said in unison.

Upon entering the museum, the group was greeted by an Archeops.

“Good morning, children!” the Archeops said warmly “My name is Sora Ishida, and I’ll be your tour guide! Are you kids ready?”

The entire class cheered excitedly, except for Izuku and Kacchan; the former was too shy, while the latter simply muttered a dismissive “whatever”.

The Archeops guide led the teacher and students across the exhibits, starting with the ones telling of Pokémon History.

“First, we’ll be going over the Feral Era.” said Ishida-san as she guided the kids through a room full of paintings depicting non-sapient Pokémon wandering about the remains of human settlements “This relatively short period of time is the transition between the extinction of human beings and our civilization. Survival was a daily struggle for ancient Pokémon, as most species had been largely domesticated by humans for millennia, so now that so humans were gone, Pokémon had to relearn to be wild and independent again.”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! I’ve read about this!” a Natu jumped up and down excitedly “Back in the days of the Feral Era, Pokémon used to _eat_ each other!”

The rest of the class immediately reacted with horror and screams of “EEEEEWW!”, though they were quickly silenced by Hikari-sensei.

“Well, it was a bit more complicated than just Pokémon eating each other.” Ishida-san clarified “See, there’s a number of Pokémon species that require certain nutrients -for example, protein- in our diet that aren’t easily found on fruits or vegetables, and back then there weren’t any foods with added nutritional supplements, so Pokémon with certain dietary needs had no choice but to feed on the flesh of those who could get by on vegetables alone.”

“Thank Arceus for supplements, then.” A Deerling student said with a shudder “That way everyone gets the nutrients they need, and no one has to be eaten!”

“I couldn’t agree more!” Ishida-san chuckled.

“I would have fared just fine back then.” Kacchan muttered proudly “My species were apex predators when fully evolved.”

“Mine too.” Kiba the Totodile, one of Kacchan’s cronies, muttered back.

“Yeah, but _I_ would have been a much better hunter!” Katsuki boasted.

Izuku was listening discreetly but said nothing, as it would have just made him a target for mockery: Eevee and its evolved forms were not strictly plant eaters, but they hadn’t been apex anything until All Might made his mark in history.

Next the group was guided to a different room, which unlike the previous one, had a number of artifacts on display.

“In this room we have artifacts from the Mystery Dungeon Era, the earliest known point when Pokémon started forming civilizations.” Said Ishida-san.

“I have a question” said a Nidoran student, raising her paw “Why is it called the ‘Mystery Dungeon Era’?”

“Good question! We call it that because during this time there were a lot of mazelike formations that ancient Pokémon frequently explored.” Ishida-san explained “We don’t know exactly how these mazelike formations came to be -which is the exact reason we call them ‘Mystery Dungeons’ in the first place- but one leading theory is that they came about due to odd tectonic shifts on the planet’s crust. In time, most of these Mystery Dungeons disappeared, as they weren’t exactly stable, though a few still remain in some secluded and isolated areas.”

“So cool! I want to explore one when I get big!” said a Deino student.

Ishida-san chuckled kindly “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, little one. Mystery Dungeons are restricted from exploration as an effort to preserve them.”

“Aww…”

The kids were then allowed to have a look around at the artifacts from the earliest era of Pokémon civilization. Most consisted of simple bags made of plant fibers, which Ishida-san explained were used by explorers to carry supplies, and scarves. Lots and lots of scarves. They didn’t seem to serve any purpose beyond decoration, but they were the trademark of ancient Pokémon explorers, so it was presumed that they were essentially ancient badges.

After a few minutes of gawking, the group was led to a room full of displays of old machines and other outdated technology that had a large statue of a Poliwhirl at the center.

“This here is Satoshi Tajiri!” said Ishida-san as she gestured towards the statue “He’s the first Pokémon that figured out how to replicate human technology, thus he’s known as the Father of the Modern Era.”

And so, the tour went on, going from the urbanization of Pokémon society to when Quirks first appeared. After that was over, it was time to go to the Anthropocene section of the museum, which covered everything about those enigmatic creatures called humans.

The area was full of exhibits of human artifacts, most of which were easily recognizable despite eons of damage and decay due to them being essentially prototypes of modern technology. The most common artifact, however, was one that Izuku and his classmates had only ever seen in pictures. Lots and lots of small, spherical objects about the size of oranges were on display in glass cases. They were rusted and most had their original colors faded. Some came only in halves, revealing that the objects were hollow.

“Ishida-san, what are these?” asked a Nickit student, pointing at the nearest glass case to him.

“Oh, we’re not really sure.” Said Ishida-san “Like cloning deceased creatures back to life, these spherical objects are among the few human technologies that we’ve never been able to replicate. Unlike cloning, however, no one is really sure what the purpose of these spherical objects was. We do know from their hollow interiors that they may have been some kind of computer and that they were extremely important to humans, since they’re frequently found alongside their remains, but aside from that, they’re just about the most enigmatic artifacts of the Anthropocene Era.”

“But how do you know humans could clone deceased Pokémon back to life?” one student asked.

“Simple. Me! I’m living proof!” Answered Ishida-san as she gestured to herself “See, my kind is one of several species that had already long died out by the Anthropocene Era, but humans found a way to bring us back. We know this thanks to fossil records: Archeops fossils, along with fossils of other several species like Tyrantrum and Cradily, show up mainly in the remote past, and remains don’t appear again until the late Anthropocene era. In other words, if it weren’t for humans, I would not be standing here giving you this tour today.”

“So, you’re like, _undead_??” a Clefairy student said with a shudder.

“I-I guess you could say that!” Ishida-san laughed “Though I’m more descended from undead. I guess that still counts?”

After that awkward bit, the group was led to the end of the exhibit, which displayed the skeleton of a human, held up by wires.

“And here is our museum’s main attraction.” Said Ishida-san “This here is Futaba, the most complete human skeleton that has been found to date. Named after his discoverer, Futaba is the skeleton of a young adult human male, and he was found roughly 20 years ago in the outskirts of Musutafu during the construction of an apartment complex.”

The students stared at the skeleton with fascination: indeed, it was nearly intact, with only a few bones from the hands and feet and a couple of vertebrae missing.

Izuku had seen illustrations of humans many times in encyclopedias but staring at the remains of one surprised him with how much he’d underestimated their size: if Futaba’s skeleton had been reconstructed to scale, human beings were _tall_. At least about as tall as the average Charizard…

“So scary…” Izuku heard Kacchan’s Chikorita crony whisper. “Human skeletons are so freaky-looking…”

“Not as freaky as the history behind this guy.” The Totodile crony whispered back “Futaba the human skeleton is cursed.”

“Don’t be stupid, Kiba.” Kacchan groaned.

“No, I’m serious!” Kiba protested “Several of the Pokémon that were on the site where Futaba was first dug up died within a year of his discovery!”

“Oh, yeah, I think I know this part.” Said the Chikorita crony “Only the Pokémon who touched Futaba’s bones directly were the ones who perished.”

“Oh, _come on_ , you too, Nagai?” Kacchan whispered in exasperation “look, if it makes you idiots feel better, I’m gonna debunk that stupid curse right here. I’m gonna touch that stupid skeleton.”

Izuku gave Kacchan a scared look. “But Kacchan! If you get caught you’ll get in trouble!”

“Then I’ll just have to touch it when nobody’s looking!” the Quilava snapped.

On cue, the rest of the group was staring to leave the room, leaving only Kacchan, Nagai, Kiba and Izuku behind.

“Okay, here goes.” Said Kacchan “Bring it on, you stupid curse!”

“No, Kacchan, wait!” Izuku quickly dashed in front of the Quilava, blocking his way “The curse may not be real, but if the skeleton gets damaged-” Kacchan brusquely pushed him away.

“Stop being such a coward, Deku!” Kacchan snarled “I’m only going to give it a light tap. If you’re so worried about us getting into trouble, then go make yourself useful for once in your pathetic life and stand watch!”

Izuku tried to protest but was quickly silenced by the Quilava setting off a few tiny sparks of flame. Quietly, Izuku tucked his tail between his legs and walked towards the entrance to scout for guards.

“Careful, Katsuki!”

“I know, I know…”

Izuku watched from the corner of his eye as Kacchan nimbly squeezed through the railing and climbed the platform where Futaba the human skeleton was propped up. The Quilava was about to tap Futaba’s left femur with a paw when he suddenly lost his balance. Izuku panicked.

“Kacchan, look out!” Izuku dashed towards him but didn’t get there in time to catch the Quilava’s fall.

“Augh! Stupid Deku, I almost had it!” Kacchan protested.

“Kids! What is going on here?”

The four Pokémon blanched and turned towards the new voice. Standing on the entrance was a Yamask guard, glaring at them with his arms crossed.

“Young Quilava,” said the guard “you do know that the railing is there for a reason, right?”

Kacchan didn’t respond but he silently fulminated Izuku with an accusatory glare as he squeezed back out of the railing.

“You kids are in big trouble.” Said the Yamask guard “Your teacher is not going to be happy when she hears about this.”

“Nice going, you stupid nerd, we’re gonna get grounded thanks to you!” Nagai snapped at Izuku as the guard led them outside.

“You literally had one job, you useless Deku!” Kacchan added “You really can’t do anything right!”

“I dunno guys, maybe this is the _real_ curse of Futaba…” Kiba mused.

“Oh, shut up about that stupid curse already!” said Kacchan. “That skeleton didn’t do this!”

After that, Izuku and the others were given detention for a week, and they indeed never got to find out whether the Curse of Futaba was real, though the fact that human skeletons kinda look like they’re stuck in a perpetual grin sure made it look as though Futaba was laughing at them from beyond the grave…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I have absolutely no idea what the names of Bakugo's pre-school/middle school friends are and when I looked them up the only results I found were the names of their Quirks, so I had to make up something for them because I felt that just calling them "the Chikorita/Totodile" all the time would get too awkward. If anyone knows what their names actually are please say so.


	24. A Blast from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uraraka learns the extent of Bakugo's scenes and takes matters into her own paws. Also there's a swimming pool involved.

Ever since Deku’s encounter with Shigaraki, everyone had been a little more wary and on edge. Iida especially had taken the whole situation hard, and he’d gone as far as to declare that from that moment on, any future hangouts would operate by an “everyone sticks together at all times” rule.

_“As Class Rep, it is my duty to keep everyone safe!”_ he had said _“And I failed at that task when I allowed Midoriya to remain by himself that day!”_

Ochaco thought Iida was being too hard on himself. If anything, it was _her_ fault that Deku had found himself in such a vulnerable position, as she could -and _should_ \- have stuck to his side but instead decided to just run off and leave him by himself, all because she’d gotten flustered. Deku had almost been choked to death or worse, all because Ochaco couldn’t keep her stupid emotions under control…

The young Espurr shuddered as she remembered Deku’s terrified face as he begged her not get close. If she had arrived any moment later, then chances are Deku would’ve been… the very thought made Ochaco’s entire being tremble with fear and sadness.

_*THUD*_

“Hey, be careful!”

Ochaco had been so lost in thought that she’d somehow failed to notice the Meganium in front of her and so walked right into his foot.

“I’m so sorry!” said Ochaco as she rubbed her face.

“Hold on, I’ve seen you somewhere before… you’re a UA first year student, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Uraraka smiled up at the much larger Grass-type. Of course, this wasn’t the first time she’d been recognized by a stranger, and it was most likely wouldn’t be the last.

“If I remember correctly, you’re the Espurr who fought Bakugo back at the Sports Festival!” said the Meganium as he inclined his head slightly, as if to get a better look at Ochaco “You lost kinda badly, but then again, it’s freaking _Bakugo_ , so I don’t blame ya… how is he doing by the way?”

“Wait, you know Bakugo?” Ochaco said in utter surprise.

“Yep!” the Meganium nodded proudly “He and I were friends back in middle school! Though he hasn’t talked to us in a while…”

“‘Us’?” Ochaco repeated.

“Yeah, uh, hold on.” The Meganium turned his neck and called “Hey, Kiba! Get over here! I found one of Bakugo’s new classmates!”

“Wait, really?” a voice responded.

Ochaco heard someone run towards her and the Meganium, and before she knew it a Feraligatr was looking down at her over the Meganium’s shoulder.

“Hello there!” the Fraligatr greeted “My friend Nagai says you know Bakugo?”

“Dude, didn’t you pay attention to the Sports Festival?” the Meganium, Nagai, scolded “She freaking _fought_ him for Ho-oh’s sake!”

“…Oh yeah!” the Feraligatr, Kiba, nodded in recognition “Hey, you put up a really good fight there, seeing who you were up against.”

“Oh, thanks!” Ochaco smiled. “Um… you guys say you were friends with him back in middle school?”

“Sure were!” said Kiba “We were practically inseparable! We were like the Terrific Trio or something!”

“You look confused.” Said Ngai, tilting his head “Has-has Bakugo even mentioned us?”

Ochaco shook her head “Not to me, at least. But he’s not exactly the sociable type to begin with.”

“…I see.” Nagai and Kiba gave each other a look, then they turned back towards Ochaco and this time it was Kiba who spoke.

“And… how is Midoriya?”

“Oh! You guys were friends with him too?” Ochaco asked.

The Meganium and Feraligatr shifted awkwardly.

“Well… not exactly.” Kiba admitted “Technically Bakugo was more his friend than we were. Not sure why, though, because that was one heck of a one-sided friendship.”

“Yeah,” Nagai nodded “Midoriya was always riding Bakugo’s coattails, but Bakugo was never exactly nice to him. I mean, remember that one time he told him to jump off the roof? That was pretty messed up. Like, he even went as far as to joke that Midoriya would become the first Ghost-type Eeveelution if he went through with that!”

Ochaco stilled. “Bakugo did _what_?!”

“To be fair, that was like a year ago, but yeah.” Said Kiba “Bakugo was kind of intense.”

Ochaco frowned. “Intense” felt like too generous of a descriptor.

“Um… if you guys don’t mind, I really need to get going.” She said, “Please excuse me.”

“Right, right.” Said Kiba as he moved out of the way and gestured for Nagai to do the same “Sorry for taking up your time.”

“It’s all right.” Ochaco said as she strolled past them “See you around…”

And Ochaco went home with her feelings even more troubled than they had already been. Poor Deku… not only had he been recently targeted by a villain, but his supposed childhood friend had treated him so poorly that he’d outright suicide baited him?

Granted, it’s not like Ochaco hadn’t noticed the fact that the friendship between Deku and Bakugo barely even resembled such. Like in the very first training exercise, where Bakugo had more or less pummeled Deku into unconsciousness… or the final exam, where Bakugo was so unwilling to cooperate with Deku that he’d outright attacked him at one point (yes, he did eventually cave in and worked with Deku as a team, but the fact still stood that the Typhlosion did so very reluctantly). Still, though, even with all this Ochaco had never once imagined that Bakugo would go so far as to tell Deku to kill himself...

Ochaco knew that she needed find out if what Nagai and Kiba had told her was indeed true. For all she knew they could have lied or misunderstood something. But if it _did_ indeed happen… well, she wasn’t going to let Bakugo get away with it, that’s for sure.

* * *

The very next day, Ochaco received a call from Kirishima, who after the incident with Deku thought that Class 1-A needed to have some relaxation time before training camp started and so decided to invite everyone to the school’s pool for a hangout.

“Would they even let us borrow the pool if we use it for play, though?” Ochaco pointed out.

_“Hmm, good point…”_ Kirishima said thoughtfully _“I guess, maybe if we say we’ll use the pool for endurance training instead?”_

“So… we’re just gonna lie.”

_“No, no.”_ said Kirishima, and Ochaco could picture him shaking his head on the other end of the line _“It’s just a ‘logical deception’!”_

At this, Ochaco couldn’t help but laugh “I guess that’s fair!”

_“Right, then that’s settled!”_ said Kirishima _“I’ll just need to make a few more calls to the rest of our classmates, then we’ll turn in a form asking for permission and hopefully they’ll grant it to us and it’ll all be settled! So, yeah, I guess this is it! See you at the pool, hopefully!”_

“Oh, hey, just one more thing.” Said Ochaco “Are you gonna try to invite Bakugo?”

_“Yes, this is supposed to be a class-wide fun-for-all activity. Why?”_

“Well, when you get to him, you’re gonna have to ‘logically deceive’ him with the endurance training front. Otherwise he’s probably going to decline, just like he did the last two times we hung out for fun.”

_“Hmm, that’s a really good point, I hadn’t thought of that…”_ Kirishima said thoughtfully _“Todoroki also declined the previous hangouts, so I guess he’ll have to be ‘logically deceived’ as well. I kinda don’t like the idea of doing that to our classmates, but if that’s what it takes for them to finally loosen up, then I guess it’ll be worth it.”_

“Yeah. Thanks for the invite, Kirishima, let’s hope it does work out. Buh-bye!” Said Ochaco. And with that, the call was over.

Truth be told, Ochaco wasn’t big on the idea of deceiving her classmates either, but she likely wouldn’t get another chance to find out about Bakugo’s suicide dare until the break was over, and by then she and the rest of the class would likely be too busy with training camp, so chances are she wouldn’t get an opportunity to find out then either. No, Bakugo _needed_ to come to this hangout.

* * *

A couple of days later, Ochaco found out that UA had thankfully approved Kirishima’s request to use the pool, and that this time, everyone had acceded to come. Once they were all gathered at the pool, though, there was a bit of a roadblock…

“Alright guys, let’s get this party started!” said Kirishima “So, how do we start things up? I vote we start with volleyball!”

“Wait, I thought we were gonna use the swimming pool for training?” said a confused Todoroki.

“Yeah, about that…” Kirishima scratched the back of his head awkwardly “I _may_ have twisted things a teensy little bit to get you and Bakugo to come. Sorry.”

Upon hearing this, Bakugo started seething with rage “You fucking Shitty Fur, _how fucking dare you_?!”

“Bakugo, no! Now’s not the time to act all feral!” said Shoji as he tried to hold the Typhlosion back.

“This does bring up something, though.” Said Iida, stroking his chin “Kirishima, of the two reasons you gave each of us to go to the pool, which did you use to ask the school for permission?”

“Well… I told them we’d be using it for training.” Kirishima admitted “I didn’t think they, or at least Aizawa-sensei, would grant us permission if the form said we’d be using it for fun. It was a logical deception…”

“In that case, I think we should use the pool for the purpose stated in the form.” Iida said firmly. “We’re doing endurance training today!”

About half the class glared daggers at him.

“ _Come on_ , Class Rep!” Kaminari protested “Aizawa-sensei lies to us like this all the time!”

“Yes, he does, and I agree it’s annoying, but just because Aizawa-sensei likes to deceive us it doesn’t mean it’s okay for us to deceive him right back!” Iida pointed out.

“I’m gonna have to side with Iida on this one.” Said Deku as he moved to stand next to his Lucario friend. “We should be honest with our teachers and use the pool for training.”

“Midoriya.” Mineta begged “Please no. Tone down the whole cinnamon-roll-boy-scout deal for once and let us have fun!”

“Guys, but if you really think about this, we’d make way better use of our time here if we train!” Deku said with that lovable dorky smile of his “It might help us out during summer camp! Besides, we can still make the training fun!”

The rest of the students looked at each other, and in the end, only Mineta and Kaminari remained unconvinced. However, since they were outvoted, the pool was used for training. It wasn’t the hangout Ochako had been hoping for, but oh well. She trusted Deku in that the training could still be made fun, and besides, it wouldn’t hurt to improve her stamina a little.

“Okay, before we jump into the swimming pool we need to do some stretching exercises.” Iida said in an authoritative tone “Don’t want anyone to get all cramped up.”

“Um, not sure if you’ve noticed, _mon amie_ , but Asui, Shoji and myself are Water-types and thus won’t be needing stretching exercises to get into our natural element.” Said Aoyama. Iida shook his head, however.

“Sorry, but you three will have to wait till the rest of us are ready.” Said the Lucario “It wouldn’t be fair for some of us to start using the pool before the others, so we all go in at the same time.”

And so, the class did some stretching for a couple of minutes until Iida decided it was time to properly begin.

“Fucking finally!” said Bakugo, who then stormed towards Deku as he ignited his paws “I’ve been looking forward to another chance at beating you, nerd! Let’s settle who’s the best between us once and for all!”

Deku, being the meek little furball that he was, simply gave the Typhlosion a shaky grin as he took a few steps back, tail tucked between his legs, and tried to give an answer, but all that came out were stutters. In light of what Ochaco had learned, the Eevee’s timid behavior now looked all the more worrying to her…

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea.” Said Momo “We could turn this training into a contest. Kinda like Aizawa-sensei’s Quirk assessment test.”

“Hey yeah!” said Mina “That sounds awesome! And Midoriya said we _could_ make this training fun! I’m so in!”

And so, the race was on. Literally, since it was decided that the competition would be a race. Iida, being the lover of order that he was, neatly divided the class into groups of five, since the pool wasn’t big enough for all 20 Class 1-A students to race in it at once. The only rule regarding the use of Quirks during the race was that everyone had to make sure that they wouldn’t hurt anyone else or damage school property. Of course, that did still mean that several students competed without actually touching the water… like Ochaco, for example, who simply used Psychic to levitate herself over the pool. Or Bakugo, who used Lava Plume to propel himself over it. Or Momo, who outright created a speedboat to ride on.

“Hey, I did make this with my Quirk, so not cheating! You guys do realize I could have easily just _flown_ over the pool no problem and that it would have been way less energy-consuming for me, right?” the Delibird had said when a couple of students protested.

In the end, it was decided that the four winners of each racing group -which of course came down to Deku, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Iida- would then race against each other to determine a “true” winner. Ochaco could feel a knot forming in her stomach. She was not looking forward to this, honestly: if Deku won or at least beat Bakugo, the latter would no doubt lash out violently at him, and if he lost, wel,, Bakugo would likely gloat about it in a really unpleasant manner… unless of course Bakugo didn’t beat Deku by winning the whole thing, since it was clear that the Typhlosion didn’t accept anything but the most surefire of victories.

“Hey, before we determine a winner, though, why don’t we have ourselves a little break?” said Iida “You’ve all worked so hard today and we do have plenty of time left, so I think we can goof off for a bit.”

Everyone stared at Iida incredulously before erupting into a series of joyous cheers.

“CLASS REP, YOU’RE THE BEST!” cried Toru, holding up a large beach ball “I GUESS IT WASN’T SUCH A WASTE TO BRING THIS AFTER ALL!”

Just like that, everyone jumped into the pool and started playing with the beach ball Toru had brought. The game was simple: the ball couldn’t touch the water, and whoever let it fall would lose. Also, this time using Quirks wasn’t allowed, and to be fair, Ochaco would have won it easily without that rule since she would have just levitated the thing. In any case, the students did manage to keep the ball from touching the water for quite some time, but then, Kaminari got bored and decided to do something else.

“Alright, it’s been fun, but I think we can switch to a different game now.” Said the Pikachu as he climbed out of the pool “We’re all clearly way too good at this one.”

“Alright so, what’s your idea, dude?” Kirishima asked as he tossed the beach ball aside.

“Let’s see who can create the biggest splash!” the Pikachu said, grinning widely.

“Umm, wouldn’t Mina-chan win by default?” Tsuyu pointed out “As a Goodra, she is the largest in our class, so how can any of us make a bigger splash than her?”

“Just use your Quirk to bolster the intensity of your splash!” Kaminari answered simply as he prepared to make a jump “Like so- HERE COMES THE SHOCKING CANNONBALL!”

“Wait!” Iida cried “Kaminari don’t-!”

Too late. Before anyone could react, Kaminari had jumped into the pool while discharging copious amounts of electricity, leaving everybody literally stunned and bringing the pool hangout to a screeching halt.

“Fucking… _damnit_ … you dumbass… rat…” Bakugo managed to say.

Aizawa-sensei walked in shortly after to announce that their time was up only to be greeted by 19 electrocuted teenage Pokémon plus one bumbling Pikachu. Ochaco didn’t think it was possible for their Absol teacher to laugh, but today she had been proven wrong.

* * *

Recovery Girl wound up having to give everyone a checkup to ensure Kaminari’s Discharge hadn’t caused serious damage. Luckily, aside from some frizzled fur and feathers, nobody had gotten seriously hurt, and ironically Kaminari was the one in worst shape, since using his Quirk in the water had caused it to overload and short-circuit his brain.

After that, Ochaco was just about ready to head home when she saw Bakugo walk away and, realizing that now was the perfect time to confront him, followed him down the hall.

“Hey, Bakugo!” she called “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

The Typhlosion turned around and glared down at her “Oh, it’s you. The fuck do you want?”

Uraraka frowned “Bakugo, this is serious. It’s about Deku. About something you said to him back in middle school. How you told him to jump off a roof.”

Bakugo’s eyes widened slightly “…How the hell do you know that? Fucking Deku being a sniveling tattletale!”

Ochaco’s fur bristled with anger. So it _was_ true. Bakugo _did_ suicide-bait Deku!

The Espurr shook her head “No, Deku didn’t tell me, so don’t you dare even think on attacking him over this because it’s not his fault!”

“Well, that happened like a year ago, so why the fuck are you getting on my case over something so stupid?!” Bakugo growled.

Ochaco gritted her teeth so hard they hurt. “Bakugo, you told someone to kill himself!” she practically screamed “That’s not just some silly little blunder you can brush under a rug no problem! That is serious! Especially because it doesn’t look like you feel the slightest bit of shame over it! What if Deku had actually gone through with it? Would you finally grow some real empathy then, or do you really care so little for Deku, your _childhood friend_ , that you wouldn’t mind if you were potentially the cause of his death?”

There was a long pause as the two young Pokémon stared at each other until Bakugo finally spoke up, his voice somehow sounding raspier than usual.

“Why do you care,” he said “if you say Deku didn’t tell you, then he clearly doesn’t. So why care?”

“Because he’s my friend!” Ochaco straightened her stance “And I’m gonna stand up for him, even if he didn’t ask… because that’s what friends, no, what _heroes_ do.”

“Listen, Funko Pop,” Bakugo snarled “I don’t want to hurt you, so stop pissing me off-”

“Oh, so you don’t want to hurt _me_ , but hurting Deku is a-okay?” Ochaco crossed her arms “I’m not scared of you, Bakugo, so if I’m making you angry as you say we can leave the school and fight.”

“I’m not going to fight you.”

“And why is that?” Ochaco tilted her head to the side “You’ve already proven at the Sports Festival that you can beat me easily, so why back down? Is it because I’m standing up to you? Is that why you pick on Deku so much? Because he’s timid and can’t stand up for himself that well, so you know he’s an easy target?”

Bakugo said nothing, but stared at Ochaco intently, his expression unreadable. The Espurr wasn’t done, however.

“What will it take for you to realize that Deku has nothing but respect and admiration for you?!” she cried “Yet you continue to treat him horribly for… really no good reason! Bakugo, I’m sorry, but you’re shaping up to be an _atrocious_ excuse for a hero.”

And with that, Uraraka turned around and stormed off. Part of her felt horrible for the things she’d said and that maybe she’d been too hard on Bakugo. She was also half-expecting him to blast her as she walked away, but that didn’t happen. Anyway, it was too late for regrets; all Ochaco could do now is hope that her talk had gotten through to the Typhlosion and that she hadn’t made things worse for Deku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Bakugo's middle school posse evolved some time offscreen. If you're wondering why they don't question Midoriya having a Quirk now, that's because they accepted the "he was a super late bloomer" reasoning with relatively little fanfare, as they don't have the ludicrous insecurity issues that Bakugo does.


	25. The Cats and the Cradle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer Camp start!

The day of the summer camp had finally arrived. Even with Aizawa-sensei’s warning that it would be grueling training, Izuku and his classmates were still elated.

“I’m so excited!” Uraraka said, suddenly running up to Deku and leaning closely to him “I’ve been looking forward to this camp all semester! How about you, Deku?”

“S-s-same!” Izuku managed to squeak out. Oh Arceus, she was close. So close. Izuku was blushing so hard now, he felt his fur might dye itself red permanently. And apparently the blush had reached all the way to his retinas, because Izuku could swear Uraraka had gotten redder too… wait, can retinas even blush?

“Y-yeah!” said Ochaco, suddenly stuttering “So excited for camp!”

The Espurr then backed away rather abruptly and started jumping and clapping while shouting “Camp! Camp! Camp” over and over. She was quickly joined by Kaminari and Ashido, and Izuku, still not over his fluster, could only watch them cheer. Then someone bumped into him brusquely.

Izuku turned around to see that the one who had pushed him was a Purrloin, who was staring at him with a rather unpleasant smug smirk. Izuku recognized him as the student who had picked a fight with Kacchan back at the Sports Festival.

“Hey, you’re Neito Monoma, right?” Izuku greeted “Why did you push me?”

“I heard some of the Class 1-A students failed their exams!” Monoma said in a condescending tone, ignoring Izuku’s question “You guys must be so embarrassed! Especially since your class is supposed to be much better than ours!”

The Purrloin’s expression suddenly turned darker, though the smile on his face didn’t fade.

“And that’s not even getting into how you assholes just can’t go five seconds without being the center of attention! First, you’re attacked by villains, then you hog all the glory at the Sports Festival, next four of you have an encounter with the Hero Killer, and finally you were ambushed by the leader of the villains who first attacked your class!”

Izuku froze. How did Monoma know about Shigaraki?!

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. It’s not like you and your friends are the only beings who need to do some shopping every now and then.” Said Monoma as he casually examined his claws “Yes, I was at Kiyashi Ward Mall on the exact same day as you Class 1-A nutjobs, I even saw your group chatting and acting like giddy dumbasses in the distance. Surprise, surprise, the mall is closed shortly after because there was a dangerous Pokémon on the loose. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you imbeciles had something to do with that.” Monoma then gave Izuku a furious glare “One of these days Class 1-A is going to bring disaster upon us all!”

And then the Purrloin suddenly collapsed. His classmate, Itsuka Kendo, had quietly crept up on him and delivered a chop to his neck and knocking him unconscious.

“Cut it out already, Monoma!” the Mienfoo said crossly “It’s not like they asked to be attacked!” she then turned towards Izuku with an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry about him. He’s still salty over Bakugo destroying him at the Cavalry Battle, though I guess it doesn’t help that he failed _both_ portions of the final exams…”

“Dammit… Kendo… why’d you have to… say that out loud?!” Monoma whined weakly as he regained consciousness and tried to pick himself up from the ground.

“Because your grudge against Class 1-A is stupid!” Testutetsu suddenly barged in “Literally everyone in Class 1-B is over it except you, dude.”

“You don’t get to speak for our entire group, Tetsutestu!” Monoma was suddenly very awake “You befriended a Class 1-A student!”

“Hey, not my fault Kirishima is a total bro.” Tetsutetsu said with a shrug.

“You guys are _literally a cat and a dog you’re not allowed to be friends_ THAT’S AN AFFRONT TO NATURE!”

And Kendo knocked the Purrloin unconscious once again.

“Alright,” Kendo deadpanned “that’s enough out of you, Monoma. You’re making us look bad.”

Izuku and his classmates could only watch as Monoma was dragged away.

“That guy’s got issues…” said Asui.

“Maybe he should make an appointment with Hound Dog.” Said Mineta “I’ve been having sessions with him lately, and he’s helped me sort out a lot of my problems. He looks pretty scary for a school counselor, though.”

“Oh, so you’re seeing Hound Dog?” Jiro asked “Huh, I guess that explains why you haven’t perved on anyone in a good while.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t look it, but he’s a great counselor.”

Luckily, the rest of Class 1-B turned out to be much friendlier, and true to Tetsutetsu’s word, held no ill feelings against Class 1-A over the Sports Festival, to the point that they eagerly greeted the Class 1-A students and were looking forward to training alongside them. Shortly afterwards, each group boarded their respective buses and soon found themselves riding towards camp, and one hour later, the bus arrived at its first stop.

Once outside the bus, the students were relieved to finally stretch out their bodies and breathe in some fresh air. The bus had stopped right next to a cliff, though strangely Class 1-B’s bus was absent. Instead, the students were greeted by a Delcatty and a Kantonian Persian wearing near-identical hero outfits (the only real difference was that the Delcatty’s outfit was red while the Persian’s was blue). The cat Pokémon were accompanied by a little Azurill wearing an unusually surly look in his face.

Aizawa-sensei greeted the cat Pokémon with a bow. “Long time no see.”

“Heya, Eraserhead!” the Delcatty joyfully greeted him back before turning to look at the students “Mind if we introduce ourselves to your litter?”

Aizawa-sensei shrugged “It’s not like I can stop you, so you do you.”

Elated, the Delcatty and the Persian began doing a weird, synchronized dance.

“Your feline fantasies are here!” the Delcatty said enthusiastically “Say meow!”

“Perfectly cute and cuddly heroes!” said the Persian.

“You can call us the Wild, Wild Pussycats!” the Delcatty and Persian finished in unison as they each struck a pose.

“I’m Mandalay!” said the Delcatty.

“And I’m Pixie-Bob!” said the Persian.

“Kids,” said Aizawa-sensei “these are the pro-heroes you’ll be working with this summer. Say hello.”

“Hello! Nice to meet you!” the students said in unison.

“OH, THE WILD, WILD PUSSYCATS ARE SO AMAZING!” Izuku cried, his fanboy-mode fully activated. “A team of four feline Pokémon that specializes in mountain rescues! They were founded like forever ago when we were little kids, and this is their twelfth year as- _oomph_!”

Izuku’s geek-out was abruptly cut short by Pixie-Bob slamming her paw on top of him and pressing his face against the dirt.

“Your math is way off, little Eevee!” she said in that kind of sickly-sweet tone that barely disguises obvious fury “I’m eighteen years old at heart!”

“…Understood!” Izuku said nervously, his voice coming out muffled. Pixie-Bob let him go.

“Wait, Deku said that your hero team was made up of four Pokémon, so where are the other two?” Uraraka pointed out.

“You’ll get to meet them in due time!” Mandalay said with a smile “But first you need to get to the camp’s base, which is way over there!” She pointed at a spot among the trees below the canyon, way, way off into the horizon. Camp base was far.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Said Satou “If camp’s all the way over there, then what are we doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Aizawa-sensei said with an almost malicious grin, which was unnervingly mirrored by the Pussycats.

“…Oh shit.” Sero blanched and took a few steps backwards “Guys I think we should get back on the bus…”

“Y-yeah, yeah…” Kaminari said as he followed Sero “bus sounds good.”

“The current time is 9:30 am,” Mandalay said as she mischievously swished her tail from side to side “if you kittens are fast you might make it to camp by noon. Just be warned: those who don’t make it there by 12:30 won’t get any lunch~”

By now all of Class 1-A was in total panic mode.

“No way…”

“Holy crap!”

“EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

The students all bolted towards the bus, but Pixie-Bob was already blocking their way. A golden aura of energy emanated from the Persian’s body and then she slammed her front paws into the ground, instantly destroying the cliff the teenage Pokémon were all standing on and sending them catapulting to the ground below. Being Flying-types, Tokoyami, Jiro and Yaoyorozu avoided the worst of this, but Pixie-Bob’s attack sent so much debris flying into the air that ultimately even they couldn’t fly away to safety, though they did manage to make a much softer landing than their peers.

“Alright, who’s not dead? Sound off.” Said Momo once the chaos had settled. Everyone responded with pained groans.

“I swear, I’m gonna kill Aizawa-sensei if he keeps this shit up…” said Kaminari as he inspected his tail for injuries.

“That’s _my_ line, Dumbasschu!” Kacchan protested, rubbing his back.

“Why don’t you both do it? You could even do it right now.” said Jiro “Between Tokoyami, Momo and I, maybe we could fly you up and-”

“Oh, quick addendum for the Flying-types, you’re not allowed to get back up here or else your entire class is instantly disqualified, and nobody gets to eat!” Mandalay called down to them right on cue. “Go through the forest like your grounded peers if you wanna get to base camp!”

“…Okay, never mind.” Jiro said with a slight pout.

“There is some good news, though!” Mandalay called again “Since us Pussycats own this stretch of forest, that means you kittens are allowed to use your Quirks all you want! Three hours should be ample time for you all to get to the base! …That is, if you can survive the Beasts.”

On cue, the students turned to face the trial ahead of them. Huge trees loomed only a few meters away, beckoning them ominously.

“Um… what do you guys suppose she meant by ‘beasts’?” Ojiro asked fearfully.

As if on cue, a gigantic creature that none of the students had seen before suddenly emerged from the foliage and roared menacingly at the teenaged Pokémon.

“…Oh, _that’s_ what she meant…” Ojiro whispered, backing away slightly.

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!” Kaminari and Sero yelled in unison.

The behemoth tried to take a swipe at Mineta, who was the student standing closest to it. Activating Extreme Evoboost, Izuku quickly rushed in to pull the Pansage to safety. When the creature turned around to give chase, Izuku caught the barest glimpse of its skin cracking and bits of dirt falling from its neck.

 _Wait._ Izuku realized _This isn’t a Pokémon!_

“Guys, I think this is Pixie-Bob’s doing!” Izuku called out to his classmates. “She’s using her Quirk to create and control dirt constructs for us to fight!”

“Well, that’s good news, then!” Said Todoroki as he rushed forward “If this thing is made of dirt, that means it’ll easy to break!”

True to form, the Vulpix easily dispatched the dirt-behemoth with one Subzero Slammer, but as soon as he did, several more appeared. This time, Class 1-A had gathered their courage, so they ran ahead to engage. The students all worked together to fight off Pixie-Bob’s dirt behemoths as they made their way through the forest: those with the most offense-oriented Quirks such as Izuku, Todoroki, and Kacchan simply destroyed them with their raw power, while students with more passive Quirks helped out in other ways, like Jiro and Shoji using their sharp senses to detect the number and position of their enemies, Mineta using his Sticky Barbs to immobilize and slow down the behemoths, or Hagakure using her invisibility to confuse them and make them easier to pick off and destroy. The MVP, however, was Koda, as the fact that his Quirk allowed him to control plants with his voice and they were in a forest meant that the Grotle was in his element, and Koda seemed to be fully aware of this, as he was acting much braver and bolder than Izuku had ever seen him, though him having had a great performance at the final practical exams also probably helped.

Still, Pixie-Bob showed absolutely no mercy, as she kept sending more and more behemoths to fight, usually multiple at a time, thereby ensuring that the teenage Pokémon had virtually no moments of rest.

In the end, the students failed to make it to base camp by noon, as by the time they arrived, the sun was already setting. Izuku staggered with every walk as he felt every muscle in his body aching in pain. He had managed to not break any bones throughout the whole ordeal, which was certainly a plus, but this exercise was probably the hardest workout he’d gotten to date, to the point that even the tips of his ears and tail felt sore. Looking at his classmates, they didn’t seem to be faring much better: Kacchan gritted his teeth as he rubbed his wrists, which had been overexerted by his having to constantly use massive blasts of Lava Plume; Iida was limping from having kicked at full Extremespeed one time too many; Uraraka was covering her mouth with a nauseous expression on her face, having thrown up so many times it was a wonder there was anything left in her stomach; Aoyama was clutching his core gem, which was no doubt aching horribly by the massive number of Signal Beams he’d had to fire; Kaminari had short-circuited about five times, and the poor Pikachu had incapacitated himself so severely that Jiro had to drag him along; Koda had a sore throat from all the shouting he’d had to do; and Tsuyu appeared downright dehydrated. In short, all of Class 1-A was sore, exhausted, hungry, and frankly more dead than alive by this point.

“And the litter has finally arrived!” Pixie-Bob greeted them cheerfully, which nobody found funny.

“You guys said it’d only take three hours!” Sero whined in between breaths.

“Yeah… I guess we timed it based on how long it’d take _us_ to get here!” Mandalay said apologetically. “That was our bad!”

“Aw, come on, do you really gotta rub it in how much better you are than us?” Satou protested.

“Oh, don’t be so sad!” Pixie-Bob giggled “I for one thought it’d take you kids even longer to get here! You all did amazingly well against my dirt-behemoths!”

“Um, sorry to change the subject, but I’ve been meaning to ask… who is that kid over there?” Izuku asked, gesturing at the little Azurill who was the same one that had been with the Pussycats that morning. And yes, he still had the same surly expression from then.

“Oh, this little guy is my cousin’s son, but he lives with us now.” said Mandalay as she turned to the Azurill “Come on, Kouta, don’t be shy! Say hello to everyone!”

The Azurill didn’t move from his spot and simply continued to scowl.

Figuring that maybe the kid was just shy, Izuku stepped forward.

“Hey there,” he smiled “My name’s Izuku Midoriya! It’s nice to meet you, Kouta!”

Kouta responded by swinging his tail and slamming it into Izuku’s face.

“OW!” Izuku covered his face with his paws as he curled up. That kid packed a punch!

“Hey!” that was Iida’s voice “You rotten little fiend! How dare you hit Midoriya on the face-YEEEP!”

Alarmed by his friend’s unusually high-pitched yelp Izuku uncurled himself and looked over to the Lucario, who was now doubled over and covering his crotch with his paws.

“Augh! Right in the Aura Spheres…!” Iida whimpered.

“Iida!” Izuku ran over to his friend.

“Midoriya… what about your face?” Iida asked, his voice still a tad squeaky.

“My face is fine, don’t worry, it was just the shock!” said Izuku “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be frank with you, Midoriya… I think the Ingenium legacy will die with me…”

Okay, the fact that Iida was being this melodramatic meant that he was _probably_ fine… Izuku looked over to Kouta, who was already walking away. The Azurill seemed to feel Izuku staring at him, though, because he briefly turned around to glare at the Eevee once more.

“The last thing I want is to hang out with some wannabe heroes!” he said furiously.

The tone in the little Azurill’s voice was honestly kind of unnerving: he couldn’t be much older than five, but it looked like Kouta already had a lifetime’s worth of resentment towards heroes. This struck Izuku as especially worrying, since he’d never met a kid who didn’t utterly adore heroes, let alone one as young as Kouta.

“Kouta, that’s no way to treat Pokémon who were just trying to be friendly with you!” Mandalay scolded “Like it or not, you’ll be spending the following week with them, so I expect you to behave yourself!”

Kouta just gave her a half-hearted “hmph!” in response.

* * *

After Izuku and his classmates finished setting up their rooms, they were taken to the cafeteria so they could have dinner. The Wild, Wild Pussycats had prepared a whole banquet for the heroes-in-training, because letting them go without food after what they’d been through would be too heartless even for Aizawa-sensei. Either that or the rule that anyone being late got no food was yet another deception, but everyone was too tired and hungry to protest if that was the case.

“Just so you know, this is the only time we’ll be doing this for you, kittens!” said Pixie-Bob “So be sure to enjoy it!”

The teens weren’t sure how the hell would they _not_ enjoy the banquet, as not only was the food delicious, but they were all starving: they hadn’t eaten anything at all since breakfast, and they’d used up pretty much every calorie in their bodies in fighting off Pixie-Bob’s dirt constructs. Izuku and his friends all ate messily, gobbling food almost without chewing it.

After dinner, the students went to take a bath, which turned out to be hot springs, much to the teens’ delight.

“Ahhh, this feels like heaven!” Said Ojiro as he submerged himself in the warm waters till only his face was visible.

“For real, I think all the pain in my limbs is fading away!” said Kirishima.

Izuku made sure to scrub his fur as much as he could: with how fluffy the young Eevee was, it was easy for dirt to get caught in the curls, and having fought against creatures literally made of dirt, Izuku knew he was beyond dirty.

Izuku briefly climbed out of the spring to shake himself dry to test if there was any filth left when he heard a yelp coming from the wall separating the boys’ hot spring from the girls’. Izuku turned his head to see Kouta trip and fall to the boys’ side of the bath. Without missing a beat, Izuku activated Extreme Evoboost and jumped to catch the little Azurill, barely saving him from cracking his head against the stone floor.

“Hey, are you okay?” Izuku said as he set Kouta down, only to immediately find out he was unconscious. Izuku’s heart sank. Had he injured the Azurill while trying to save him?

“I’ll take him to Mandalay!” Izuku told his friends as he carefully set Kouta on his back “You guys continue enjoying the hot springs for me!”

And without further ado, Izuku headed inside and quickly found the Delcatty, who guided Izuku to the camp’s infirmary.

“Don’t worry, he’s not injured.” Mandalay said after giving Kouta a quick checkup “I think he just fainted from the shock.”

Izuku sighed shakily in relief. “I’m glad… I wonder what he was doing there, though?”

“Oh, Kouta is a bit of a loner, so he’s quite good at finding hiding places to spend time.” Mandalay explained “The space between the hot spring wall happens to be one of them, though it’s pretty much the only one I’ve actually been able to find. He must have gone there a while back and dozed off, only to wake up and find out you kids were bathing. I guess that must be what startled him.”

“He… he doesn’t like heroes very much, does he?” Izuku asked awkwardly. “It’s a bit strange to me because all my life I’ve been surrounded by Pokémon who admired heroes, including me… I know that there are other Pokémon out there who hate heroes, but none are as young as Kouta is...”

Mandalay sighed and stared at the sleeping Azurill with a sad expression “I think about that a lot… Kouta is still so small, yet he’s already lost his faith in heroes completely. If only he’d had a normal childhood… maybe he would admire heroes just as much as other kids his age do…”

“What happened?” Izuku asked.

“It was Mandalay’s cousins, Kouta’s parents.” Said Pixie-Bob, suddenly entering the room. “They were heroes too, but…” Pixie-Bob’s expression turned mournful “they were murdered on duty by a villain.”

Izuku gasped.

“Yeah…” Mandalay said sadly “it was two years ago… Kouta’s parents were killed while protecting citizens, probably the most respectable way for a hero to die, but how do you even explain to a child so young that his parents died honorable deaths? From Kouta’s perspective, his parents left him _because_ of their status as heroes… frankly, he doesn’t really like us that much either, but he’s got nowhere else to go…”

Izuku felt the weight of Mandalay’s words and was unable to respond. From the info Mandalay had given him, Izuku had guessed who Kouta’s parents were: Water Hose, a heroic due made up of a male Azumarill and a female Buizel. Izuku had watched the news about their deaths. No pictures had been shown, obviously, but the gruesome descriptions of the scene made it clear that Water Hose’s final moments had been agonizing. To make matters worse, the villain responsible for their deaths had escaped.

Izuku felt a lump form in his throat; as rude as Kouta was, Izuku couldn’t help but feel for the poor little guy. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying it must be to lose one’s parents at such a young age. In the end, Izuku had to excuse himself, since it was getting late and he needed to be well rested if he was to endure tomorrow’s training. But with knowledge of where Kouta’s hero resentment stemmed from, Izuku found it hard to sleep. He wanted to do something to help Kouta.

* * *

The next morning, the students were woken up just before sunrise. They headed outside with Aizawa-sensei.

“Today we will begin training to increase your strength. The goal here is to increase your Quirks exponentially so that you can earn your Provisional Licenses.” Said the Absol, who then took out a ball and tossed it to Kacchan. “Try throwing that just like you did in the Quirk Assessment test. Back then your record was 705.2 meters. Let’s see how much you’ve improved.”

Izuku’s eyes widened. Kacchan was already insanely powerful before enrolling into UA, and he’d only gotten much stronger since. So getting to see how much the Typhlosion had improved was sure to be a treat, and the rest of Izuku’s classmates agreed, as there were excited murmurs declaring that Kacchan should be able to at least double the distance of his throw by now.

Confidently, the Typhlosion stepped forward, and with a cry of “GO TO HELL!” threw the ball with all his might whilst bolstering it with Lava Plume.

“That was 709.6 meters.”

The whole class was shocked at Aizawa-sensei’s words. That was nothing! How come Kacchan had improved so little in the past three months?!

“Don’t be so shocked, children. Remember you’ve only had a single semester at UA.” Said Aizawa-sensei “You’ve all certainly improved, the problem is that most of that improvement has been on mental prowess and technical skill rather than the raw power of your Quirks, which is exactly what this camp aims to work on.” Aizawa-sensei shot his students a mischievous grin “This training will be so taxing and difficult you’ll all feel like you’re in hell… let’s hope you all survive.”

And just like that, Class 1-A was put through intense training specialized for each student to improve their Quirks. They were joined shortly after by the Class 1-B students, and the 40 teenagers were in turn supervised by both their homeroom teachers and the full Wild, Wild Pussycats quartet. Mandalay used her Echoed Voice to give advice to multiple Pokémon at once and Pixie-Bob used her Tectonic Rage to create the ideal training grounds for students to use their Quirks, then there were the other two members: a yellow and teal-furred Luxio named Ragdoll, who monitored everyone’s status with her Eerie Impulse, which allowed her to track and analyze up to 100 Pokémon at a time by sending out electrical currents into the air; and a brown and tan-furred Incineroar named Tiger, who as the largest and most heavily-built member of the Pussycats, was in charge of training the students with physical strength-based Quirks like Izuku.

“COME ON!” the Incineroar bellowed “SHOW ME WHAT YOU’VE GOT!”

Izuku readied a smash, but Tiger easily dodged and countered with a punch of his own that catapulted the Eevee back-first into a nearby tree.

“You wanna be Plus Ultra, don’t you?” said the unimpressed Tiger “Then show me what that means!”

“Yes sir…” Izuku whimpered as he got back on his feet.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

“YES SIR!” Izuku screamed as loud as his throat and lungs could muster. This camp was for him and his schoolmates to get stronger. This was just another step the Eevee needed to take to make Extreme Evoboost his own.

“YEAH, THAT’S THE SPIRIT!” Tiger yelled “TEAR YOUR WIMPY QUIRK APART AND MAKE IT STRONGER!!!”

The training only got even more intense when two Class 1-B students, and Ursaring named Jurota Shishida and a Hitmontop named Sen Kaibara, joined Tiger’s bootcamp. The Hero Course students trained until sunset, and just as the Pussycats had warned them yesterday, this time the teens had to prepare their own dinner. Somehow, the resulting curry turned out to be… well, not necessarily excellent, but it was edible, which was certainly an accomplishment for Class 1-A, especially since most had never really cooked a complex dish before. Though it did help that everyone was so hungry that they honestly didn’t care about the taste.

As Izuku ate, he watched from the corner of his eye how Kouta disappeared into the woods, presumably off to one of those hiding spots Mandalay had mentioned, without eating anything first. Figuring the Azurill might get hungry, Izuku decided to take an extra bowl of curry to him.

When Izuku caught up to Kouta, they were already quite far from base camp. The little Azurill had climbed up a rocky hill and was staring off into the distance with a scowl on his face.

Izuku walked towards him and set the bowl of curry he was carrying on the ground, making a clinking noise that alerted Kouta to the Eevee’s presence.

“Um, hey.” Izuku said gently “It’s not good to skip meals… I brought you some curry…”

“Get lost!” Kouta fulminated Izuku with a glare “This is my secret spot!”

“Oh, I’m sorry… I promise I won’t tell anyone about your hideout.”

“I’d rather you forget about it completely yourself!” Kouta snapped “I don’t wanna hang out with you! You and your friends are so dumb, wasting your time improving your Quirks so you can become heroes… yeah, right, what you all really want is to show off!”

The bitterness and resentment in Kouta’s young voice stung. Understandable, of course, given the kid’s circumstances, but still…

“H-hey…” Izuku said nervously, unsure of how to approach the subject “were-were your parents the Water Hose heroes?”

Kouta’s eyes widened, then he practically screamed “Did Mandalay tell you?!”

Izuku shook his head “N-no! Um… sorry, it’s just… I heard a little about what happened, and I remember reading about the horrible incident with Water Hose a couple years back, so I figured…” Izuku trailed off, not wanting to finish such a painful sentence.

Kouta looked away, still visibly furious, though now that fury was mixed with sadness that made Izuku regret bringing up the subject of the Azurill’s parents.

“Go away.” Kouta said flatly “Everyone is so crazy. Labelling Pokémon stupid things like ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ and then killing each other over it! …If Water Hose hadn’t been showing off their Quirks they’d still be here! Just leave me alone, already! Just go back to the other losers!”

Izuku could only stare at the Azurill sadly. It looked like Kouta blamed his parents’ deaths on not just their status as heroes, but on Quirks themselves. Izuku sighed.

“Hey, you know what? I have a friend who is Quirkless. It’s rare these days, so he got really unlucky…” Izuku took a deep breath before continuing “thing is, my friend admired heroes a great deal, to the point he wanted to become one when he grew up. Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult for a Quirkless Pokémon to become a hero, but my friend refused to give up, and kept hoping for a miracle… he tried to use Telekinesis or Flamethrower, which were the Quirks his parents had, but it was no good.”

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?” Kouta groaned.

“What I’m trying to say is that even though it’s okay to have different views on Quirks, you shouldn’t reject them completely.” Said Izuku “If you do, it’s just gonna make your life harder.”

“ARGH, WILL YOU JUST GO AWAY?! I’VE TOLD YOU TO LEAVE LIKE A BILLION TIMES ALREADY BUT YOU JUST KEEP STANDING THERE BLABBERING ABOUT DUMB, POINTLESS STUFF!” Kouta shouted angrily before slamming hit tail at a small rock next to him, sending it flying towards Izuku, who narrowly dodged it.

Realizing that he’d pushed Kouta’s buttons too far, Izuku looked down at the ground, dejected. “I’m sorry… I do have a habit of rambling sometimes. I’ll leave the curry for you, make sure to eat it before it gets cold…”

And with that, the Eevee turned around and walked away. Izuku had only wanted to help, but instead he’d made everything worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first things first, HUGE apologies to Iida and/or Lucario fans for making him the victim of Kouta's crotch-assault here. Originally it was going to be Midoriya just like in canon, but since I made him a quadrupedal species I just couldn't think of a way that Kouta would even have proper aim, so Iida took the fall instead...
> 
> Second things second, you may have noticed that Kouta's mom was a Buizel and his dad was an Azumarill rather than the other way around. This isn't a mistake. See, I personally have this admittedly weird headcanon that baby Pokemon always hatching as their mothers' species is something that only applies to human-raised ones, and that wild ones can be born as either parent's species. I know there's not any real proof of this, but I have always wondered how male-only species are able to sustain their population when they can only have kids with Ditto (which aren't always present in every ecosystem), and this headcanon was the most logical explanation I could think of. At least it'll make future plot threads a lot easier.


	26. Ultra Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vanguard Action Squad strikes. Humans start posthumously getting more involved in the plot.

Ever since that talk with Izuku Midoriya, Tomura had felt the happiest he’d ever been in quite a long time, as he finally had a real conviction of his own to drive him and his League of Villains forward: show the world just how shallow and artificial their sense of security truly was, and it all started with this latest ambush. Due to the League’s attack on UA, the prestigious hero school had doubled its defenses, making it that much harder to track down their movements. Of course, that didn’t stop Sensei from immediately figuring out UA’s summer curriculum and location. How he’d done it, Tomura had no idea, but then again, Sensei was by far the smartest and craftiest Pokémon the young Grimmsnarl knew, so it perhaps shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he could stay one step ahead of even UA High.

In the end, Tomura had indeed acceded to let Dabi and Toga join him, and in the following weeks the League of Villains had gathered even more recruits, and yes, many were indeed Stain sympathizers. Of course, Tomura didn’t mind that much now, since the worthless Bisharp was now rotting away in prison while his ideology was appropriated for the benefit of someone he’d deemed unworthy. And of these recruits, there was one with whom Sensei had requested a meeting mere hours before the planned attack.

Tomura and Kurogiri waited patiently for the recruit to arrive. The bar was empty that day, which was fine, since the place was rather small and thus not able to accommodate that many Pokémon at once. Luckily, Tomura didn’t have to wait long.

“So, the big bad boss called for me?” the Delphox said as soon as he arrived. “I don’t see him anywhere, though. Where is he?”

“I’m afraid that Sensei cannot be here with us in the flesh.” Kurogiri explained.

“Well, that’s a bit uncouth…” said the Delphox “He requests a rendezvous now of all times only to not show up?”

“Believe me, my friend, I’d love to be able to meet with you face to face. But certain unfortunate circumstances prevent me from doing so.” Sensei’s deep voice echoed from the television situated next to Tomura and making the Delphox jump slightly.

“I-I apologize, sir.” The startled Delphox said with a slight bow.

“There’s no need.” Sensei said with a light chuckle “Atsuhiro Sako. Better known by your villain name of Mr. Compress, you are wanted nationwide for your masterful acts of thievery. Acts that you are able to commit thanks to your Quirk, Magician, which allows you to compress objects down to the size and weight of a small marble. There’s not a better power for a thief than that.”

“I-yes… that’s me.” Compress muttered, clearly unnerved by Sensei calling him by his real name so casually. Tomura smiled inwardly at this.

“Do you have an idea of why I have summoned you?” Sensei asked.

“Well, all I know is that we’re supposed to capture a Typhlosion kid named Bakugo.” Compress said with a light shrug.

“Correct.” Sensei said with satisfaction “And it’s your Quirk which will make it possible to bring him in.”

Compress blinked, visibly confused “I… think you might have gotten info about my Quirk wrong, sir? Magician only works on inanimate objects, not living beings.”

“And that is exactly why I have called you here.” Said Sensei “You see, I have a way to get around your Magician’s unfortunate handicap.”

Tomura gestured to Kurogiri, who went to the bar’s counter and took out a small wooden box, he then handed it over to Compress, who opened it after brief hesitation.

“What the- are these…?” the Delphox lifted one of the objects that was inside the box. It was spherical in shape, about the size of an orange, and it had a mostly black coloration save for a purple stripe cutting right across its middle section, with a golden eyelike design at the center.

“Great Giratina…” Compress gasped in sudden recognition “you-did you actually manage to reverse-engineer these?? But… these are among the human artifacts whose technology was never successfully replicated before!”

“Hence why these three are the only ones that exist. It was a hard and arduous task. We were simply unable to make any more, at least for the time being.” Said Sensei, who sounded less like he’d made a revolutionary step for technology and more like he’d just finished cleaning some particularly dirty furniture.

“Err, okay but… How are they supposed to help my Quirk?” Compress asked.

“As soon as you have the right aim, just throw one at the intended target.” Sensei explained “I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out what to do next yourself if it hits its mark.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything helpful.” Compress said with a light frown. “Can you drop the cryptic act already and give me straightforward answers, you bastard?”

“Watch your muzzle, asshole, unless you don’t wish to keep it.” Tomura snapped, raising his hand at the Delphox to emphasize his threat “You will not talk back to Sensei with such disrespect!”

“Easy, Tomura.” Sensei said calmly “I understand Compress’s frustrations, but I will say that we cannot afford to let knowledge of this technology leak out into the open just yet, hence why I asked him to come alone at this hour and why I’m leaving out so many details.”

“So you don’t think I can be trusted to keep a secret? Is that it?” Compress exclaimed, visibly angry.

“Of course not, moron!” Tomura growled “You’re still new, you need to prove that you’re trustworthy first!”

“Temper, Tomura, temper.” Sensei said soothingly “There’s no need to be so rude towards our guest who, might I remind you, is the most important piece of our plan.”

Tomura backed down with a huff. As much as he respected Sensei, the Grimmsnarl couldn’t understand how the mon was able to muster all that patience.

“Anyway,” Sensei continued “I will tell you this, Compress: these objects only work once, meaning you must make sure you have a clear shot of the intended target before you throw one. And because I could only make three, you only get three tries, so don’t use them recklessly. It would be a shame if you bungled the job and ended up using them on someone other than our dear Bakugo. And try not to play with them too much because these things are not indiscriminate: you will get trapped inside if you get hit by one yourself.”

“Oh. Right, right.” Compress, who had been absentmindedly tossing the sphere up and down, immediately put it back on the wooden box with great care, as though he was handling a bomb. Then he realized what Sensei had just said “Hold on, _trapped_ -?”

“That’s everything I wanted to say. You’re dismissed.” Sensei said before the TV monitor shut itself off.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while before Compress finally spoke up.

“It’s getting late… the others are probably waiting for me.”

And with that, Compress grabbed the box containing the three spheres and shrunk it down to marble size so he could store it in one of his coat’s pockets. Then Kurogiri created a portal for him so he could join the raid. Tomura smiled. At last, all the pieces of the chess board had been set.

_*At camp earlier that morning*_

To Kouta, the week couldn’t be over fast enough. The fact that he was allowed to sleep in as much as he wanted was cold comfort when he’d have to spend so many days surrounded by hero-apprentices, especially because these guys were by far the worst alarm clock in existence: the sun was barely even up when Kouta was awakened by the Typhlosion’s ear-splitting screams of “DAAAAMN IIIIT!”

 _Sigh_. Did that jerk not know the meaning of indoor voice?

Upon heading outside the base, the first thing Kouta did was glare at the morning sun for getting into his eyes. The next thing he did was glare at the hero students doing those stupid-looking exercises, though of course, they were so busy with their self-indulgence that they didn’t even notice him.

“Good morning, Kouta. Did you sleep well?”

That was Aunt Mandalay walking over to him.

“That Eevee mentioned mom and dad to me last night.” Kouta said, glaring at her “Why did you tell him?! He tried to pretend to have guessed by himself, but I know it was you!”

Mandalay flinched and then sighed. “Look, you were very rude to him and his friends on the first day, it’s only fair that he gets an explanation.”

“What, so he could try and sway me to become hero-obsessed?!” Kouta snapped “I already have enough with your stupid lectures, I don’t need another dumb Pokémon joining in!”

“No, no, Kouta.” Mandalay moved closer and sat next to him “Nobody’s saying that you have to become ‘hero-obsessed’ or anything like that!”

“Then you keep trying to make me like heroes?” Kouta asked, looking up at her.

“Well, it’s perfectly possible to like something without being obsessed with it.” Mandalay pointed out “I like macarons, for example, but that doesn’t mean I wanna eat them every day.”

“Ugh. You just don’t give up, do you?” Kouta scoffed, rolling his eyes so hard they hurt “I’m never going to like heroes and that’s final! Get that through your head!”

“Kouta, the reason I believe you won’t hate heroes forever is because that hate is just your way of grieving for you parents.” Said Mandalay “And I understand: they were my family too, you know.”

“If that’s true, then why don’t you quit being a hero?” Kouta asked, scowling at her even harder “That’s the whole reason they died! Aren’t you afraid that the same will happen to you? Or do heroes really value the glory more than anything, including their own lives… _their own kids_?” Kouta’s eyes felt heavy with tears as he unsuccessfully tried to hold them back “…did mom and dad value the glory… more than me?”

Kouta jumped as Mandalay suddenly enveloped him in a hug, wrapping her tail around him.

“No, Kouta, of course not!” she said “It’s true that your parents ended up leaving you behind in this world, but I assure you it wasn’t by choice: they were fully intending to come home to you. Being a hero is a scary job, but it’s a necessary one. Our job is to help others, which does often mean having to put our lives on the line. It is terrifying, and any day in which we’re on duty could be our last, but heroes don’t have a death wish. On the contrary, what we wish is for everyone to be alive and safe.”

“Then you value the lives of strangers more than the Pokémon you’re actually close to?” So Kouta said with a light sob as he buried his face into Mandalay’s stomach.

“Kouta, please look at me.” Kouta stared at Mandalay. She was smiling at him, but her eyes looked sad. “Your parents, the Water Hose heroes… it’s true that they ended up leaving you behind. But you’ll see: one day you’ll meet someone who’ll make you understand their sacrifice. Someone who’ll risk their life to save you. Someone who’ll be-”

“Shut up!” Kouta abruptly pulled away, not wanting to hear any more.

Mandalay sighed “Well, it was worth a try… anyway, I really need to get back to help coaching our trainees… just trust me, Kouta. It will happen. One day you’ll come to realize why we do what we do.”

And with that, Mandalay gave Kouta an affectionate lick before running off. Kouta then spent the rest of the day off on his own, moving from secret hideout to secret hideout and playing silently by himself. He didn’t pay his aunt Mandalay’s words much mind. It’s not like this was the first time that the Delcatty had tried to sway his opinion on heroes, and Kouta knew from experience that it wouldn’t be the last.

* * *

Even though it was already the third day of training, it wasn’t getting any easier. But neither Izuku nor any of his friends dared to give up. After all, if they couldn’t deal with a little exercise, how would they deal with what actual pros had to go through?

“Don’t lose focus. I know you can all move faster.” Aizawa-sensei called to his students as they trained “Just remember where you started from, who you were before UA. Always keep in mind why you’re panting, why your muscles are sore, and why your limits keep getting tested. That’s what it means to improve.”

“Hey, that reminds me.” Izuku stopped his exercises for a bit and walked over to his teacher “I was wondering if All Might- I mean, the other teachers from UA will be joining us?”

The Absol shook his head “To keep the camp a secret from the villains, hardly anyone knows where we are, so it’ll only be me, Vlad King and the Pussycats. Besides, bringing All Might would paint a huge target on us, so it’s best if he’s not here. Now, off with you. Go back to your training and stay focused.”

 _Right. All Might was targeted by the League of Villains not that long ago. I really should have thought of that._ Izuku said to himself as he went back to Tiger’s bootcamp.

The rest of the day’s training went by without much fanfare, and just like the day before, it was over by sunset, and the students had to prepare their own meal. Izuku was setting some firewood for the furnace when Todoroki walked over to him.

“Hey, I overheard your question to Aizawa-sensei. Is there a specific reason you asked for All Might?”

“Oh.” Izuku turned to look at the Vulpix “Yeah, um, it’s because of Kouta.”

“Kouta?” Todoroki tilted his head to one side “Who’s that?”

“The little Azurill over there-” Izuku pointed with his tail to a spot where Kouta had been standing just a second ago. Now he was gone, though.

 _He must have gone to his hideout._ Izuku thought.

“Oh yeah,” Todoroki said in sudden recognition “you mean the kid who assaulted you and Iida on the first day, right?”

Izuku gave a sad nod. “He doesn’t like heroes much at all… I tried to talk to him last night, but I think I just made things worse… and I was just wondering what All Might would have done to help him if he’d been here.” Izuku looked down “What would you say to Kouta about his situation, Todoroki?”

“You know, having a complete stranger trying to change your mindset sounds pretty annoying.” Todoroki said bluntly. “And in any case, words don’t matter nearly as much as actions do.”

Izuku winced. Although he’d only been trying to help, now that Todoroki put things that way, Izuku realized that to Kouta he probably just came off as pushy and entitled. And then there was how Izuku had convinced All Might that he could become a hero in the first place: by _the action_ of trying to save Kacchan.

“You’re right… I’ve been going about this completely wrong.” Izuku said, smiling up at his friend. “Thanks Todoroki!”

“Well, to me it sounds like you’re sticking your nose into a very delicate situation.” Todoroki said with a light smirk “You kind of have a bad habit of that, now that I think of it.”

Izuku winced again. Figures Todoroki would say that… Izuku kinda had sorta meddled with the Vulpix’s own problems too…

“Granted, maybe it isn’t that bad a habit. For better or worse, your meddling did help me… you just need to be aware that such things can backfire.”

Todoroki gave Izuku a tiny smile and then walked away, leaving the young Eevee alone with his thoughts. It was true that to help Kouta, he needed to show rather than tell… problem is, Izuku wasn’t sure how.

* * *

After dinner, the Pussycats had decided that the students should play a game to test their courage. Class B would be playing the scarers, so they’d hide in a designated area of the forest and try to scare class A, who would traverse the woods in pairs to collect the marked tags… well, that was the idea in theory. In practice, one Class 1-A student would have to go it alone because the five who had failed their finals would be taking remedial lessons with Aizawa-sensei, and after drawing lots, Izuku was the one left without a partner. Worse still, he’d be going last, which meant he got to hear his classmates screaming at whatever horrors Class B had concocted.

As Izuku and a few other students (Iida, Koda, Ojiro and Mineta) waited for their turn alongside three of the Pussycats, however, things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Pixie-Bob was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown backwards by an unseen force. It was so fast. By the time they had all turned their heads, Pixie-Bob was already lying motionless on the ground, bleeding heavily from her head atop which rested a massive magnet threatening to crush it. The Pokémon holding the magnet was an Alolan Golem wearing sunglasses, who was smirking maliciously at the group. Next to her was a Sceptile wearing a ninja-esque outfit, complete with mask.

“PIXIE-BOB!” Izuku tried to go to the Persian’s aid, but was stopped by Mandalay and Tiger stepping in front of him.

 _Stay back!_ Mandalay’s voice echoed inside Izuku’s head. _I appreciate you wanting to help our teammate, but we should avoid being reckless. For now, I’ll just send an SOS message to everyone else._

Izuku knew Mandalay was right, so he quietly nodded and backed down, afraid as he was for Pixie-Bob’s condition.

“Well, how are you this evening, UA High School?” said the Sceptile “We are part of the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!”

“Oh, come on, these guys again?!” Ojiro said half-angrily, half-scared “How did they find us? I thought the location of this camp was supposed to be top secret!”

“What can we say, we’re just that good!” The Alolan Golem said as she pressed her magnet into Pixie-Bob’s head “Now, you all better behave yourselves or I’ll crush this Persian’s skull like a melon!”

“YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!” Tiger roared at them.

The Sceptile quickly moved between the two of them and held up his arms “Now, now everyone calm down. Remember, Big Sis Mag: when deciding who should live or die, we must be careful to abide by Stain’s principles.”

“Stain?!” Iida took a tiny step forward “So you’re the ones he ended up inspiring!”

“At your service, that’s us!” the Sceptile said proudly “And you must be the self-righteous Lucario brat who attacked him, right? Let me introduce myself…” The Sceptile grabbed the hilt of a sword that was hanging from his back and pulled it out, revealing that the thing was literally made of dozens of blades stuck together (the fact that this Sceptile even had a sword with him in the first place meant his Quirk was definitely not Leaf Blade, which usually was the most common Quirk for his species) “Call me Spinner! I’m here to make Stain’s dreams a reality!”

“I don’t care who you are, criminal!” Tiger growled as he extended his claws “Tell your partner to get her filthy hands off my friend _or else_!”

“Or else what, Tiger? You’ll kill us? Is that what you were going to say?” Spinner asked accusingly “You know that killing is not something a _real_ hero would do, right?”

Tiger was about to make a retort when Mandalay called to him. “Tiger! I’ve finished talking to everyone! Trust the safety of the other students to Ragdoll, meanwhile you and I will hold off these two!” then Mandalay addressed the students present “Kids, you return to camp! Class Rep, you’re in charge. _Do not_ engage any enemies!”

“Leave it to me.” Iida said with a nod “Come on guys, let’s go!”

The five teens took off running towards camp, with Iida leading the way and Izuku bringing up the rear. As the group ran, they realized that the scent of burning trees was in the air, and it wasn’t long before they saw the telltale clouds of smoke. The villains had started a fire. Izuku felt a lump on his throat: most of Class B and several of Class A were in there! Not to mention Kouta-

Izuku skidded to a halt as his heart skipped a beat. Kouta! He had gone off into the woods alone earlier that night! No one knew where he was… no one except Izuku.

“Guys!” Izuku called to his friends, who stopped and turned their heads towards him in alarm “You go on without me! I need to do something quick, then I’ll catch up!”

Without waiting for an answer, Izuku took off towards Kouta’s hideout.

 _I really hope I’m wrong and he’s already back in camp…_ Izuku thought as he activated Extreme Evoboost so he could run as fast as possible. _But I need to make sure. If he_ is _at his hideout, hopefully I can make it there and bring him to safety without running into any villains!_

* * *

 _Kouta! Kouta! I hope you can hear me… you need to get back to camp_ now _! I’m sorry I can’t come to you… I don’t know where you’re always running off to… just get back home!_

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage about Aunt Mandalay’s Echoed Voice is that it could only send telepathic messages but didn’t allow its user to receive them: Kouta had heard Mandalay’s warning, alright, but he had no way of letting her know where he was… nor could he get back to camp. Because there was another Pokémon there with him. And they clearly didn’t have friendly intentions.

Kouta took several steps backwards as the enormous, cloaked figure loomed closer.

“I came here scouting for a nice vantage point, and I end up finding someone who’s not on our list.” Said the figure “So, little Azurill, what say you and I play a game? Since you’re already round, you can be the ball.”

Kouta turned to run away, but the Pokémon was too fast and quickly jumped to block his path.

“Oh, don’t be that way, kid. I guarantee that it’ll be fun!” the Pokémon took off his cloak and revealed himself to be a Buzzwole with a damaged eye.

Kouta was now paralyzed with terror. He recalled the day his parents had died, how the villain who had ended their lives had been identified as a Buzzwole. Who in turn had suffered great damage to his eye during the fight.

Kouta was so scared that when the Buzzwole raised a fist to crush him all he could do was shut his eyes and brace himself… but then something grabbed him and pulled him out of the way.

* * *

Only one second later and Kouta would have been paste. Izuku had made it to the hideout just in time to see the Azurill nearly get crushed by a Buzzwole. Izuku managed to just barely save Kouta, but the impact of the Buzzwole’s punch was so strong, it sent a shockwave that knocked Izuku off balance, sending him and Kouta tumbling across the ground.

“You…! What are you doing?!” Kouta said as soon as the two had scrambled back to their feet. The Azurill’s voice was for once not angry, but thoroughly shocked.

Izuku didn’t answer right away, and instead put himself protectively in front of Kouta as he faced down the huge Buzzwole who was now walking towards them. This was by far the worst-case scenario possible: Kouta was threatened by a villain who had _just happened_ to come across his secret hideout, and in his haste to get to Kouta as fast as possible, Izuku had neglected to tell anyone where he was going. Izuku had also left his phone back at camp, as he had not been expecting to need it. The Eevee mentally slapped himself for being so stupid: now nobody could come to his or Kouta’s aid. He’d have to protect the Azurill by himself.

“Hey, I promise everything will be okay.” Izuku said to the trembling child behind him without taking his sight away from his foe. Izuku then activated Extreme Evoboost and crouched into a fighting stance “I’m going to save you, Kouta!”

“You really think _you_ can save this little brat?!” the Buzzwole laughed “A tiny whelp like you?! That’s rich! Though I guess it _is_ what a wannabe hero would say: your kind sure likes to mouth off about justice!”

Izuku didn’t respond and instead carefully eyed his enemy, realizing who he was right away: his villain name and picture had appeared on the news two years ago after the murder of the Water Hose hero couple. Muscular, a terrifying serial killer with a powerup-type Quirk.

“Your name’s Izuku Midoriya if I remember correctly…” The Buzzwole mused “Yeah, yeah, I think I’m on the money here. You match the given description exactly.” Suddenly, the Bug-type’s body rippled as it enveloped itself in red jellylike tubes that sprouted from the sacks’ fluids. “That’s perfect: we were told we could take some initiative and kill you. But first, a little torment! SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!”

Izuku tried to dodge as his opponent jumped to attack him. Unfortunately, Izuku had vastly underestimated Muscular’s speed and paid dearly for his miscalculation by being slammed back-first into the mountainside. Izuku winced in pain as he slid back down to the ground.

“Oh hey, before I forget. You know where a Typhlosion named Bakugo might be?” Muscular asked in a casual tone clearly meant to mock his opponent’s lack of strength.

Izuku gasped. Kacchan. The League was after Kacchan.

“Come on, fun games or no fun games, I still have a job to do, so it’d be best of you told me now!” Muscular attacked again.

 _But why is Kacchan a target?_ Izuku thought desperately as he scrambled to get out of the way, thankfully being successful at dodging this time.

“I’ll take your silence to mean that you don’t know. Oh, good. THAT MEANS I CAN FOCUS SOLELY ON PLAYTIME!!!” Muscular jumped and delivered a kick that sent Izuku flying into the mountainside once again.

Izuku cried out upon impact as his head cut open from the blow. He fell to the ground, trembling as he felt a thick, warm liquid drip down his face.

“HAHAHAHA! YES! BLOOD IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED FROM YOU!” Muscular yelled ecstatically “Hey, what was that that you promised? That ‘everything will be okay’? Well, how’s that working out for you?! Come on, get up! I know you’re not done, so don’t just lie there you stupid Eevee!”

Izuku’s mind was racing as he struggled to force himself to stand back up. Now that his opponent had proved himself to be as fast as he was strong, Izuku’s already scant advantages had been severely reduced even more. Right now, he couldn’t afford to worry about why the League was after Kacchan if he wanted to get out of this alive…

As the villain closed in on him again, Izuku instinctively tried to take a swipe at him with Extreme Evoboost at 5%. The attack had no effect.

“…What? Is that all you got?” the Fighting-type taunted. “How sad. It’s gonna take far more than that to even scratch me!” Muscular sent Izuku tumbling across the ground with a backhand.

“My Quirk Beast Boost increases my speed and strength so exponentially that the fluid inside my protein sacs can’t be contained by my exoskeleton!” Muscular boasted, his body rippling on cue. “I know I’m bragging a bit, but I mean, COME ON!”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, YOU’RE JUST AN INFERIOR VERSION OF ME!” Muscular attacked again, but Izuku managed to jump out of the way, resulting in the Buzzole punching on the ground, unfortunately making large pieces of rock fly in all directions and one striking Izuku’s already injured head while in the Eevee’s mid-air jump.

“I can’t help but laugh at you, kid! You really think you’re a hero, DON’T YOU?!” Muscular jumped above Izuku and knocked him back down to the ground with a punch. The pain was so intense that Izuku was left immobilized on the ground, his head in particular throbbing as blood continued to spill out.

“HOW ARE YOU GONNA SAVE HIM, HUH?! DON’T MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP! YOUR WORDS MEAN NOTHING IF YOU CAN’T LIVE UP TO THEM!” Izuku felt an enormous hand wrap itself around him and squeeze him tightly before he was lifted into the air “YOU’RE NO HERO, YOU’RE JUST A FRAUD! AND YOU’LL DIE THAT WAY!”

And then, Muscular suddenly dropped him and Izuku heard Kouta speak to the Buzzwole in a sad and furious tone.

“Remember Water Hose? My mom… and my dad… DID YOU TORTURE THEM BEFORE YOU KILLED THEM TOO?!”

Doing his best to ignore the throbbing pain, Izuku lifted his head in alarm and saw that Muscular was fully focused on the little Azurill, who had knocked a pebble at him to get his attention.

“Seriously? Those losers were your parents? Small world!” Muscular responded in bemusement as he walked over to Kouta “The Water Hose heroes are the ones who took my left eye!”

“This is all your fault!” Kouta cried “Nothing in the world is right anymore AND IT’S BECAUSE OF CRAZY POKÉMON LIKE YOU!”

“Pah, typical brat shifting the fault into someone else.” Said Muscular “Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t kill Water Hose because I was mad about what they did to my eye or anything: I simply wanted to kill other Pokémon, and those two tried to stop me. What happened was the result of all of us doing our best.”

 _Okay, he’s monologuing now..._ Izuku thought as he groggily tried to stand up. _Maybe now I can land a clean hit. But I’ve got to keep him off Kouta!_

“The real travesty is promising to do something you're not able to do. THAT’S WHY YOUR DEAR MOMMY AND DADDY DIED!” Muscular suddenly lunged at Kouta with the clear intention to smash him into paste. Izuku didn’t waste any time and jumped at the Buzzwole, who finally turned to face him.

“Nice try with the sneak attack! But I’m ready!” Muscular took a swing at Izuku who managed to dodge as he kept his aim at the Buzzwole’s head.

“You ruined his life!” Izuku cried, infuriated “And you won’t even take the blame?!”

The Eevee landed on Muscular’s face and started attacking his good eye by clawing and biting at it frantically. Muscular screeched in anger and pain.

“AHGH! WHY DO YOU HEROES _ALWAYS_ GO FOR THE FUCKING EYES?!” Muscular grabbed Izuku and tried to pull him off, but the Eevee kept his grasp firm. Desperate, Muscular clenched his hand into a fist and prepared to punch Izuku. Exactly what the Eevee had been hoping for.

Izuku let go of Muscular’s eye and swiftly jumped upwards and out of the way of the punch, causing Muscular to hit himself.

 _Now’s my chance!_ Izuku prepared a swipe with his right paw. _Extreme Evoboost, 100%! SMAAAAASH!_

Izuku’s attack slammed Muscular into the mountainside and caused a shockwave so massive it nearly blew Kouta off the cliff. Luckily, Izuku was quick and managed to barely catch him.

“Gotcha! Sorry about that…” Izuku said as he pulled the Azurill back to safety. Kouta mumbled something back, but Izuku barely heard him as he was looking over the spot where Muscular had landed.

 _He’s not moving… does that mean I managed to knock him out? That’s a relief… my right foreleg is useless now…_ Izuku turned away and stood back up, making sure his fractured limb didn’t touch the ground.

“Let’s go back to camp.” He said to Kouta “It’s not far.”

Before either of them could leave, there was a loud crash as Muscular burst out from under the rubble. Izuku could only stare in horror.

_No way… it can’t be! I was at 100%, the same as All Might’s power!_

“Ahh! Despite all your annoying nibbles, I can still see.” Muscular said as he stretched out his body “But hey, that wasn’t too bad, Midoirya!”

Muscular then stalked towards Izuku and Kouta.

“No! Stay away!” Izuku cried as he placed himself protectively in front of the Azurill.

“Nah, attacking sounds more fun!” said Muscular as he got closer.

“Tell me, what does the League want from us?” Izuku asked, desperately trying to stall for time.

“Doesn’t matter to me, I’m just glad that they finally left me break lose. As long I get to use my Quirk all I want, I really don’t care what their deal is.” Muscular wasn’t slowing down “Remember what I told you earlier, though? We’ve just been playing around, but now… NOW I’M SERIOUS! Playtime is over! I’m coming at you for real! Because to tell the truth, you’re actually pretty strong.”

Muscular activated his Quirk and lunged at Izuku and Kouta. The former quickly grabbed the latter and managed to jump out of the way, but the blowback from Muscular’s attack was strong enough to knock the two to the ground. Luckily, the Buzzwole ended up getting his fist stuck as well.

Izuku got back to his feet, panting heavily from exhaustion. He briefly considered taking Kouta and making a run for it, luring Muscular back to camp, where Aizawa-sensei was, and let the Absol erase his Quirk… except, Izuku was so tired from today’s training and the fight that he didn’t trust he’d be able to outrun Muscular. Plus, he’d be endangering his classmates’ lives if he did that… no, he’d have to stand his ground and give Kouta an opening to escape.

“Kouta. Stay back. And then, when it’s time, run as fast as you can back to camp.” Izuku said as he got ready to engage Muscular.

“You’re attacking him again?!” Kouta cried “You can’t do that, let’s just get out of here while he’s stuck! Your attack didn’t hurt him earlier and now your foreleg is broken!”

“It’s going to be fine.” Izuku replied with far more confidence than he felt. Then just as he activated Extreme Evoboost again, Muscular finally dislodged his arm and lunged at him.

Although his left leg was still relatively unharmed, Izuku knew from experience that it’d be extremely difficult for him to move around on just his hind legs, so if by some miracle he made it out of this fight in one piece, he needed to keep as many of his limbs as intact as possible. So in the end, Izuku blocked Muscular’s punch with his already broken right foreleg.

“AW, WHAT’S WRONG?!” Muscular taunted “THAT ONE WAS EVEN WEAKER!”

Izuku desperately tried to push Muscular back to no avail, even when he tried to use his unharmed left foreleg for support. Tearing up from the pain and effort of keeping his enemy at bay, Izuku finally realized that this wasn’t a battle that he could win. So, with no other option, he yelled at Kouta:

“I WON’T LET HIM GET PAST ME! RUN!! GO NOW!!!”

“Still looking after him?! WELL AREN’T YOU NOBLE!” Muscular laughed as he started crushing Izuku, pushing him into the ground. “SHOW! ME!! YOUR!!! BLOOD!!!!”

The Eevee struggled to get Muscular off him, but it was too much: the Buzzwole’s superior size and strength were overwhelming. Within a few minutes, Izuku would be literally crushed and suffocated to death.

 _Mom… All Might… I’m so sorry… please forgive me…_ Izuku thought as tears streamed down his bloodied face. This was over…

And then, Muscular’s assault suddenly stopped. “What the- is that water??”

“Stop it! LET HIM GO!”

Kouta. Kouta had saved Izuku. But that meant… he hadn’t run. He was still in danger.

“Now, just hold on there, kiddo!” Muscular laughed “You’ll get your turn to die after I’m done with this whelp!”

 _No. No! I can’t die here! Otherwise Kouta will be killed!_ Izuku thought as he once again started pushing back against Muscular’s crushing power.

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT KOUTA! DON’T YOU _DARE_ LAY A HAND ON HIM!!!” Izuku yelled as he felt Extreme Evoboost coursing through his body at an intensity he’d never felt before.

“I-IMPOSSIBLE!” Muscular said, sounding taken aback for the very first time that fight “HOW ARE YOU GETTING STRONGER?!”

_Extreme Evoboost, 1 000 000 000%!!!_

Izuku finally pushed Muscular off him completely, sending the Buzzwole’s own crushing power against him in addition to Izuku’s own Extreme Evoboosted force. Muscular was slammed against the mountainside once again, and this time, the damage he’d taken proved enough to finally knock the villain out cold.

* * *

Kouta stared wide-eyed in shock. This Eevee -Izuku Midoriya, as Muscular had called him- had just saved his life, enduring an absolutely brutal and vicious beatdown to do so.

 _But why? Even though you don’t know me… even though I was so mean to you… why did you risk your life to save me??_ Kouta started tearing up for what must be the fiftieth time that night. He remembered what Aunt Mandalay had told him that morning so vividly, it almost felt like she was using Echoed Voice on him:

_“Your parents, the Water Hose heroes… it’s true that they ended up leaving you behind. But you’ll see: one day you’ll meet someone who’ll make you understand their sacrifice. Someone who’ll risk their life to save you. Someone who’ll be…”_

_…My Hero…_ Kouta mentally finished the sentence as Midoriya unleashed a scream of victory. It probably didn’t sound especially impressive, given that it was coming from an Eevee. But to Kouta, it was nothing short of epic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about not posting this last week, but real life got in the way, so I was unable to finish it on time. There's also some news: I recently got a job, so I will no longer be able to update as frequently as before. I still am a bit unsure of how my schedule will end up like, but for now all I can say is that I'll update whenever I possibly can. Even though it's the most uninspired and unoriginal thing ever, I've had a lot of fun working on this fic, so I'm not gonna stop.
> 
> Also ohmygod I don't wanna draw another Ultra Beast for as long as I live...


	27. Gotcha!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes.

Izuku stared at his defeated opponent, panting heavily with exhaustion. Despite his victory, the Eevee felt far from triumphant: he was exhausted and injured and he had no idea of how his friends and teachers were faring against the other villains, which was especially concerning since he now knew that Kacchan was a target, and possibly not even the only one. He had to warn them, he had to-

Izuku’s vision blurred and he stumbled, then quickly regained his footing.

_No! Don’t pass out! You need to get Kouta back to camp and warn Kacchan and the others!_

“Hey! Are you okay?” Kouta ran up to him, a look of fear and concern on his face.

“Yeah… I’m fine…” Izuku said in between deep, exhausted breaths “I just… need to… do something… just give me a sec…”

“What?! But you’re all beat up! What more could you have to do now?!” Kouta cried.

Izuku gestured towards the unconscious Muscular “You saw how strong that guy was… if any of the other villains are on his level, then everyone’s lives are at stake…!”

Izuku straightened up and held his head and tail as high as he could in his battered state.

“I may be injured, but there’s still other Pokémon I need to save!” the Eevee said “And as long as I’m conscious, that’s what I’m gonna do!”

Kouta nodded, though he still had a look of apprehension on his face. Izuku sighed and gave the Azurril a little smile.

“First things first, though, I need to make sure you make it back to camp.” Izuku crouched down “Get on my back, I’ll take you there.”

“But… are you sure you can carry me?” Kouta said as he stared at Izuku’s injured foreleg.

“Don’t worry, I still got three legs left, don’t I?” said Izuku. “Besides, we need to get as far away from here as possible before this villain wakes up.”

Kouta gave Izuku a hesitant nod and carefully climbed onto the Eevee’s back.

“Now, be sure to hold on tight.” Izuku said as he activated Extreme Evoboost “This could be a rough ride.”

Then, once Izuku felt Kouta had a secure grip, Izuku walked towards the edge of the cliff and jumped, heading straight for the forest. Luckily, it didn’t take long before the duo bumped into a familiar dark furred Absol.

“Aizawa-sensei!” Izuku cried cried, halting his run, and allowing Kouta to climb back down to the ground “Thank goodness I bumped into you! Please take care of Kouta and keep him safe, I need to find Mandalay!”

And with that, Izuku prepared to sprint off again.

“Wait, Midoriya!” Aizawa-sensei called out to him before he could leave. Izuku turned his head to look at his teacher.

“Those injuries…” Aizawa-sensei said, staring at Izuku’s fractured foreleg. “You went overboard again, didn’t you? Have you forgotten about Hosu already?”

“N-no, sir…” Izuku squeaked out. It was true, too. It’s just… Kouta had needed saving, so what else was Izuku supposed to do?

Thankfully, Aizawa-sensei seemed to understand, as he simply nodded slightly.

“Regardless,” said the Absol “you are in no condition to be running around through the woods like crazy. Head back to camp.”

“No, I can’t!” Izuku frantically shook his head “I have to send a message to Mandalay! It’s about the villains! I know why they’re here! I need to tell her so she can warn everyone!”

“Then just tell me and I’ll relay your message.” Aizawa-sensei answered simply.

“You can’t…” Izuku sighed “You need to keep Kouta safe: he has a Water Quirk, so he might be able to help us put out the fires and if a villain tried to stop us I-I don’t think I’d be able to protect him anymore in my current state…”

“Midoriya-”

“ _Please_ , Aizawa-sensei!” Izuku begged, not wanting to lose any more precious time “You can’t be in two places at once! Let me do this! The sooner I can get this message to Mandalay the better!”

Aizawa-sensei sighed, unhappy but resigned.

“Alright. But don’t leave just yet: I have a message for Mandalay too. Tell her to inform the rest of your schoolmates that I’ve granted them permission to engage in combat for self-defense. I’ll take full responsibility for any injuries inflicted upon the villains… including the one you just fought.”

Izuku blinked in surprise. “Th-thank you, sensei…”

“Well, get going then.” Said the Absol “I’ll take care of Mandalay’s ward.”

Izuku gave his teacher a quick, grateful nod and dashed into the woods, hoping that Mandalay was still in the clearing where Spinner the Sceptile and Mag the Alolan Golem had first ambushed them.

Indeed, when Izuku got there, Mandalay and Tiger were still locked in combat with the two villains. The latter traded blows with Mag and had even managed to disarm her of her giant magnet at some point in the fight, meanwhile Spinner was swinging his giant sword at Mandalay, who kept dodging expertly while trying to find an opening to strike back.

Without a second though, Izuku jumped into the fray and kicked Spinner’s sword with all the strength he could muster without breaking his bones. The blades composing the weapon were instantly scattered in all directions.

“Mandalay!” Izuku yelled at the Delcatty in mid-jump “Kouta is safe! I’ve made sure of that!”

“You found him?!” Mandalay breathed out, her expression a mix of shock and relief.

“I also have a message from Aizawa-sensei!” Izuku said as he landed “He says he grants us students permission to fight! Use your Echoed Voice to tell the others!”

Mandalay nodded wordlessly and relayed the message in an instant.

“Alright, it’s done.” She said “Now you should get back to base camp! Those injuries aren’t normal! You need medical treatment!”

“No, wait!” Izuku said as he struggled to stand straight “I still need you to send another message! I’ve learned about one of the villains’ targets! They’re after Kacch-I mean Bakugo! Please, you have to let the others know!”

“Okay, but if that’s all you need do, then you should head back to camp now!” said Mandalay.

“Sorry, I can’t!” Izuku said as he took off running again. He knew she was right, and that he should probably head back and rest, but… his classmates were in danger… _Kacchan_ was in danger… he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing!

 _I’ll just make sure everyone’s safe._ Izuku thought as he ran.

Suddenly, a huge black shadow lunged towards Izuku, and then he felt four large, leathery arms wrap themselves around him, pulling him out of the dark figure’s reach.

“Midoriya, what’s with those injuries?!”

“Shoji?” Izuku looked up to see his Barbaracle classmate staring down at him with a look of deep concern in his eyes.

“You shouldn’t be running around in that state! You should be in bed resting and taking it easy.” Said Shoji as he lifted Izuku so that the Eevee could ride on his back.

“Shoji! You’re injured too!” Izuku gasped upon seeing that one of the Barbaracle’s arms was a bloody stump.

“Don’t worry, it’ll grow back.” Said Shoji, lightly grabbing his severed arm by the wrist “Besides, we’ve got bigger problems to deal with now. Tokoyami and I were ambushed by a villain… one of my arms was cut off when I tried to shield us... Tokoyami was desperately trying to keep his Quirk under control, but…”

Izuku gasped. Tokoyami’s Quirk, Night Shade had a weakness to light, so logically that meant darkness made it stronger… and consequently, more difficult to control.

“So then… that shadow that lunged at me just now…” Izuku said with a gasp.

“Yeah. Night Shade’s gone completely berserk. It’ll indiscriminately attack anything and anyone that gets close.” Said Shoji, turning around so he and Izuku were facing a huge mass of darkness, which was wrapped around a struggling Murkrow.

“Stay away!” Tokoyami yelled at them “It’ll kill you!”

* * *

When Shota had received Mandalay’s message about the villain attack, it took everything in his being to keep his fur from standing on end. After quickly telling Vlad King to keep the remedial group safe, Shota ran outside only to be met with the forest set ablaze, and the Pokémon responsible for the fires -a Ninetales with a partially burned to a crisp body- very nearly incinerated the Absol as well. Only Shota’s years of experience on the field and quick reflexes saved him. Using the capture weapon around his neck, Shota quickly immobilized the villainous Ninetales and pinned him to the ground. Unfortunately, trying to squeeze out information from the Fire-type turned out to be a futile effort, as the Ninetales only responded to Shota’s questions with threats and ominous non-answers before revealing himself to be a decoy -no doubt the work of one of the villains’ Quirks- by melting into a pile of brown goop.

Four of Shota’s students (Iida, Ojiro, Koda, and Mineta) arrived immediately afterwards, and after quickly telling them to go inside with Vlad Kind in the remedial group, Shota ran into the forest at full sprint to locate the rest of the students as well as the Pussycats. That’s when he ran into Izuku Midoriya, looking far more injured than he ever had before, and that was saying a lot, since this problem child of an Eevee seemingly couldn’t go five seconds without getting himself beat to a pulp.

Regardless, all Shota could do for now is get young Kouta back to safety…

“Mister?”

Aizawa stared at the little Azurill, who looked to be in the verge of tears.

“That Eevee, h-he…” Kouta stammered, his lip quivering “I… sorta hit him earlier, but he still got beaten up just to protect me and… I-I never apologized... or even thanked him…”

Now the tears were pouring out like torrents and Kouta had broken into full on sobs “Please tell me he’s gonna be okay! I don’t want him to get hurt more!”

Shota’s expression softened and he sighed as he walked over to Kouta and gently put his paw over the child’s head.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to give him a proper apology and a thank you.” Shota said reassuringly “He sustained those horrible injuries precisely because he’s got no intention of dying. Still, I will have to give him a good scolding later for acting without my permission.”

Kouta blinked away a few of his tears and Shota carefully picked him up and raced back to base camp. The Absol couldn't blame the kid for worrying so much about Midoriya: the Eevee was in horrible shape, and it was clearly just because of the adrenaline rush that Midoriya was even still conscious anymore… as soon as he relaxed even a little, the pain from his injuries would catch up to him and he’d be rendered unable to move. While Shota had told Midoriya to head back to camp, the kid had obviously refused and had even offered himself as messenger... and Shota hadn't reminded him to return to camp after he was done with that. Then again, knowing that kid, chances are he’d look for another excuse to keep fighting anyway until all his schoolmates were safe. Really, the only way to ensure that Midoriya would come back to camp was for Shota to drag him back there himself.

The Absol huffed under his breath. _Problem child…_

* * *

Shoji tried to keep hidden in the bushes as he tried to escape the berserk Night Shade with Izuku in tow. Unfortunately, the Quirk was in such high alert that it would try to attack even the tiniest sound or movement. Tokoyami screamed and struggled, evidently trying to reel his Quirk back in to no avail.

“Midoriya,” said Shoji as he crouched down beneath a bush, keeping his voice as low as he could “We received Mandalay’s message regarding Bakugo. You came all the way here despite your heavy injuries because you were worried about him, right?”

Izuku didn’t respond verbally, but he didn’t need to.

“Yeah… I thought as much.” Shoji sighed “Listen, I don’t think there’s a way for both of us to get past Night Shade, so I’ll keep it distracted while you go on ahead.”

“What?! No way, I’m not leaving you two! Not with Night Shade in that state!” Izuku exclaimed.

“You’ll have to if you want to get to Bakugo!” said Shoji. “It’s either Tokoyami or him.”

Izuku blinked, then frowned slightly “…No it’s not. We can save both.”

Shoji stared at him “How?”

“Easy. Todoroki and Kacchan were the group immediately behind you in the Courage Game, so they shouldn’t be that far from where we are, and their Fire-type Quirks can emit enough light to subdue Night Shade enough for Tokoyami to retake control, so all we gotta do is lure Night Shade to them.” Izuku explained. “You can use your Quirk: if Night Shade reacts to sound, you can use your Dupli-Arms to create noise so Night Shade will try to attack that instead of us as we run forward.”

“We don’t even know where Bakugo and Todoroki are, though.” Shoji noted “We’d just be charging blindly into the forest.”

Izuku gulped “I know… but it’s the best option we have if we wanna save both of them…”

“Alright. It’s a risky plan, but let’s do it.” Shoji said with a decisive nod.

_*Five minutes later*_

“I KNEW IT! THIS PLAN IS HORRIBLE! WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS, WHYYYYYY?!?!?!?!” Shoji screamed as he ran at full sprint with a berserk Night Shade right behind him in hot pursuit, obliterating trees in its way.

Although Shoji kept one of his arms wrapped around Izuku to ensure he wouldn’t fall, the Eevee was still instinctively clinging onto the Barbaracle’s back for dear life. Izuku scouted the landscape, looking for any sign of his Vulpix and Typhlosion friends. Then, far ahead, he saw a column of ice.

“There!” he called as he pointed with his uninjured paw “Todoroki’s using his Subzero Slammer! They’re probably fighting against some villains!”

“Yeah, I see it!” said Shoji as he ran in the direction of the glacier. In a matter of moments, the Typhlosion of Vulpix emerged into view.

“BAKUGO! TODOROKI! GIVE US SOME LIGHT!” Shoji yelled.

Just then, the villain that Todoroki and Kacchan had been fighting -a Cacturne in a black straitjacket- struck at the incoming Shoji and Izuku with his Quirk, Needle Arm. Shoji managed to jump out of the way, resulting in Night Shade attacking the Cacturne and pinning him down to the ground.

“Flesh.. slabs of meat…” the Cacturne moaned as he used his Needle Arms to prop himself up “I’m the one who gets to cut them up!”

Before the Cacturne could retaliate, though, Night Shade wrapped itself around him, isnantly shattering his thorns and then slamming him against a nearby tree. The Cacturne was instantly knocked out cold.

“NOW!” Kacchan cried as he activated a blast of Lava Plume. Next to him, Todoroki set ablaze with Inferno Overdrive. The light from the two Fire-type Quirks proved enough to finally weaken Night Shade and end its rampage.

“Thanks… you saved me.” Said Tokoyami as he finally regained control of his Quirk.

“And once again I’m a terrible matchup for you, Edgelord Bird.” Kacchan scoffed.

Tokoyami shuddered “I’m… I’m sorry… I couldn’t control it… the influence of the darkness combined with my fury spurned Night Shade into a frenzy… and I ended up hurting Shoji!”

“Hey, it’s all right.” Said Shoji “Don’t beat yourself up. We got more pressing matters to deal with now.”

Tokoyami stared at his friend in surprise, guilt still lingering in his eyes, but ultimately nodded. “This is about Mandalay’s message, right?”

“Yeah.” Said Izuku “The villains are after Kacchan.”

“I do wonder why, though… are-are they trying to kill him?” Todoroki asked.

“I’m not sure…” Izuku admitted “All I know is that we need to escort him back to camp. It’s the only place he’ll be safe.”

“I see.” Said Tokoyami “So essentially we’ve gotta be Bakugo’s bodyguards now. Like a Protection Squad… The Bakugo Protection Squad.”

“Fucking say that again and I’ll blast you so hard your grandkids will bear the burn marks, Edgelord Bird.” Kacchan growled.

“Right. I’m sorry.” Said Tokoyami with a tiny wry smile “I meant the _Kacchan_ Protection Squad.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Bakugo. Don’t do anything rash, please. Remember your blood pressure.” Said Shoji as he put himself between the Typhlosion and the Murkrow, shielding the latter from the former, who was moments away from doing something incredibly violent.

“I. Don’t. Fucking. _Need._ Protection.” Kacchan said in between growls, veins popping and paws crackling with small fiery explosions.

“Bakugo, you and I were only just barely able to handle that Cacturne villain just now. It was two against one on our favor, yet we still needed the timely arrival of a berserk Night Shade to finally take him down.” Said Todoroki “There’s still plenty of villains lurking about, and they’re probably of similar caliber. I know this is an incredibly tough pill for you to swallow, but yes, at least in this one instance, you _do_ need protection.”

Kacchan fulminated Todoroki with a wrathful glare but said nothing.

“Alright, so now that we’re all in the same page, what’s the plan?” asked Shoji

“Well, first thing in mind is that we’ll have to cut straight through the forest to reach base camp.” Said Izuku “Not only will it be a shorter route than the main road, but Mandalay and Tiger are probably still fighting the villains in that clearing, so we’d only draw attention to ourselves if we went that way.”

“Yeah, but we don’t know how many more villains there are or where they’re hiding. We might get ambushed.” Tokoyami pointed out.

“Shoji can use his arms to scout the route and make sure it’s safe. You could also fly up and help us scout, Tokoyami, though that might expose you to the villains.” Said Izuku “And if it comes to the worst-case scenario, we have Todoroki’s ice, and if you’re okay with it we could even use Night Shade now that we have a failsafe in case it goes berserk again.”

Izuku surveyed his friends, who gave him looks of resolve. The young Eevee felt his chest swelling with newfound courage that seemed to numb the pain of his own injuries a little.

“With a group like this,” he said, “I’d say we could even take on All Might himself!”

“I already told you I don’t need help! I can take care of myself!”

“Stay close, Bakugo. We’ll surround you.” Said Todoroki, completely ignoring the Typhlosion’s protests.

“SHUT UP, ICYHOT!!! DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!” Kacchan yelled again as the others formed a sort of protective circle around him.

Izuku exhaled slightly, feeling a bit more relieved. Still, he couldn’t afford to relax just yet: he and his friends still needed to get to safety. And so, with only the faintest feeling of dread hanging over them, the five teenage Pokémon started making their way to base camp.

On the way there, they bumped into Uraraka and Asui, who were locked in combat against a blond-furred Zorua. The Dark-type was wearing a scarf around her neck that sported a pattern evocative of a deranged, fanged grin. She was also wearing a strange contraption on her back full of syringes connected to tubes. One of the syringes was full of a red liquid.

Izuku very nearly jumped out of Shoji’s back to engage, but it turned out to be unnecessary, as the Zorua decided to retreat upon seeing the *ahem* Kacchan Protection Squad, most likely due to being vastly outnumbered now. However, Izuku could have sworn the Zorua stared directly at him for a fleeting moment before fleeing the scene.

“Who was that?!” cried Todoroki as he and the rest of the Kacchan Protection Squad approached Uraraka and Asui.

“One of the villains.” Asui said with a shudder “She was scary… even though she kept attacking us over and over, she talked to us in a cheerful tone, as if we were her friends who were just playing a harmless game with her… I’ve never met anyone like that.”

“Guys, you’re hurt!” cried Izuku, looking over the Espurr and Frogadier with concern. Indeed, the former had a nasty cut on her shoulder that was oozing blood, while the latter had her mouth hung open with her tongue lolling out and oozing blood as well.

“I believe that’s our line, Deku!” Uraraka said worriedly “Tsuyu-chan and I only got minor scrapes, but you… what happened?!”

“That’s not important right now.” Said Izuku “I’m just glad you two are okay. Come on, join our group! We’re protecting Kacchan and escorting him back to camp, and we could use your help. The more the merrier.”

“Sure thing! We’ll help!” said Uraraka as she pumped a fist. Next to her, Asui uttered an affirmative “ribbit”.

“And thus, the Bakugo Protection Squad increases in numbers and strength, becoming mightier with each new member.” Said Tokoyami.

“Fucking hell- _stop calling it that_!” Kacchan snapped.

Before the group could proceed, there was a sudden rustling of leaves that the teens realized too late wasn’t caused by the wind. A large figure dressed in a dark yellow overcoat leapt out of the trees and threw something at Kacchan.

As soon as the object made contact, the Typhlosion was enveloped by a bright white light, which then shrunk down and was sucked _inside_ the thrown object. Izuku and his friends stared in complete and utter shock as the tiny orb fell to the ground and shook once. Twice. Thrice. Then, it stopped moving entirely.

“Ah, so _that’s_ how it works…” said the villain as he picked up the small, spherical object, looking it over “Extraordinary…”

The villain then turned to look at the group of stunned teens, revealing himself to be wearing a mask that completely covered his face to the point that not even his eyes were visible, and he wore a brown top hat that did nothing to obscure the large furry ears protruding at either side of his head.

“Neat trick, huh, children?” The Delphox said with a chuckle “I admit that I may have been a tad sloppy in my execution of it, but to my credit, it _is_ my first time working with this contraption.”

At first, Izuku and his friends could do nothing but stare, trying to process what on earth they’d just witnessed. Some way, somehow Kacchan was trapped inside an object small enough for this Delphox villain to hold it in one hand. Was this the work of his Quirk? Could this villain create objects that could trap Pokémon inside them? …No, wait, that couldn’t be. The Delphox had clearly said it was the first time he used something like this. But then, what was going on?

“Now, don’t you worry about your Typhlosion friend, little ones. He’s perfectly safe in here.” Said the Delphox as he showed the spherical object that had trapped Kacchan “A Pokémon with a talent like his is completely miscast in the role of a hero. My comrades and I will provide him with a grander stage where he can _truly_ shine!”

“Give him back!!” Izuku yelled, snapping out of his shock.

“‘Give him back’?” the Delphox laughed “What an odd thing to say. Bakugo doesn’t belong to you.”

“Neither does he belong to you!” cried Todoroki, sending a barrage of ice at the Delphox, who nimbly jumped out of the way.

“Oh, come now, what’s with all the aggression, children?” the Delphox said tauntingly. “We merely wish to show Bakugo that there are other options besides the fanatical world of heroism he’s drowning in. It’s important to choose a path that aligns with your core values, after all.”

“Bold of you to assume you know Bakugo’s core values!” said Tokoyami, who then addressed Todoroki “Cover me in case something goes wrong!”

After receiving an affirmative nod from the Vulpix, Tokoyami took flight “Go now, Night Shade! Retrieve Bakugo!”

The clawed mass of darkness lunged at the Delphox villain, who was unfortunately too fast even for Tokoyami’s Quirk and swiftly dodged before retreating into the trees.

“Don’t try to follow him, Tokoyami!” cried Todoroki “The foliage there is too thick for me to safely use my flames! It’ll just cause another forest fire!”

“We can’t let him get away!” cried Izuku.

“Oh, but I’m not going anywhere just yet!”

Once again, Izuku and his friends were ambushed. The villain jumped out of his hideout and with a swift movement of his arm threw another object like the one that had caught Kacchan at Tokoyami.

“Watch out!” Asui used her tongue to pull the Murkrow out of the way while Todoroki burned the object to a crisp.

“Pesky brats!” the Delphox growled as he took something out of his overcoat’s pockets and threw it at the teens “This ought to keep you in check!”

The object that the Delphox threw expanded in size and revealed itself to be a giant metallic weighted net which promptly fell on top of Izuku and his friends, pinning them to the ground and leaving them trapped.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking that Murkrow with me too. Any Pokémon with a Quirk powerful enough to take out Moonfish as easily and violently as his did would be a great addition to our ranks.” Said the Delphox as he pulled out yet another capture sphere and threw it at Tokoyami. Just like with Bakugo, Tokoyami was enveloped in a bright light as soon as the orb made contact and he was sucked inside it. The object shook three times before going completely still, and the Delphox villain picked it up. As he watched yet another of his friends being caught, Izuku suddenly recognized the items this Delphox was using. the young Eevee was now absolutely sure that he’d seen items like these before in anthropology museums, though none were colored the same as these spheres were. Was this… was this genuine human technology? Or just something new modeled after it visually? Izuku shook his head. What was he doing?! He didn’t have time to think about where these things came from! First and foremost, he had to save Kacchan and Tokoyami!

“Toodle-oo, children!” the villain said in a mocking singsong voice before turning around and dashing away.

“No! NO! YOU CAN’T TAKE THEM! YOU BASTARD!” Izuku screamed and thrashed.

“Midoriya, calm down! You’ll only aggravate your injuries!” said Shoji as he kept the infuriated Eevee restrained.

“We’ll get them back!” said Uraraka “Everybody hold still and make sure you didn’t get stuck to the net!”

Uraraka then used her Psychic to lift the net off the group so they could give chase to the villain who was trying to take their friends.

“We’ll never catch up to him! He’s too fast!” said Shoji.

“Not if I slow him down!” Todoroki responded, sending an enormous Subzero Slammer attack at the Delphox, quickly enveloping him in a glacier.

“Whoa there, be careful little Hybrid, you might give someone hypothermia.” The Delphox leaped out from behind an ice column “Now you’ll have to excuse me, but combat is not really my forte, so I have no interest in fighting you kids.”

As the Delphox leapt from ice column to ice column while talking into an earpiece, telling his comrades that he’d acquired their target, Izuku saw him stuff something into his coat’s pockets. Kacchan and Tokoyami.

“AFTER HIM!” cried Todoroki as he and the rest of the gang chased after the Delphox in hot pursuit. No matter how fast the students ran, though, they seemed to be unable to close the gap between them and the villain.

“Oh, if only Iida were here!” Uraraka lamented.

Izuku clenched his teeth in frustration, silently agreeing with his friend. There had to be _something_ they could do to catch this villain and rescue Kacchan and Tokoyami… suddenly, Izuku had an idea.

“Guys, I know how we can catch him, but we’ll need to use everyone’s powers!” cried Izuku as the group continued running “First, Uraraka, you need to use your Psychic to make me, Shoji and Todoroki float. Then, Asui, you use your tongue to launch the three of us as hard as you possibly can with a boost from your Battle Bond. Shoji, you will hold me and Todoroki and use your arms to control our trajectory through the air. Uraraka, measure the distance with your eyes, and when the time is right, release us!”

“Wait, but Deku, you’re still going to fight with those injuries?!” Uraraka exclaimed.

“She’s right, Midoriya!” said Todoroki “You should stay behind! With all that pain-”

“Trust me, I don’t feel any pain right now! I can do this!” said Izuku. It was true, too: Izuku’s entire body was flowing with energy despite his injuries. And besides, he couldn’t rest until Kacchan and Tokoyami were rescued from the villains’ clutches.

“Come on! We have to hurry!” Izuku cried when he saw that his friends were still hesitant.

“…Okay.” Uraraka and the others finally relented.

The students stopped running and got into position to execute their plan: Izuku moved aside so there’d be enough space for Todoroki to join him atop Shoji’s back, and after the Barbaracle ensured that his friends had a firm grip on him, he signaled for Asui to wrap her tongue around them. Then Uraraka used her Psychic on them, upon which Asui flung them into the air as hard as she could.

Izuku, Shoji and Todoroki caught up with the Delphox villain in an instant, tackling him and making him fall to the ground below.

“Give Kacchan and Tokoyami back!” Izuku cried as he, Shoji, and Todoroki kept the Delphox pinned.

“Look out!” Todoroki barely had enough time to warn Izuku and Shoji of an incoming blast of blue fire aimed at the trio. Consequently, while the Vulpix was able to avoid the attack, the Eevee and Barbaracle both got damaged by the flames.

 _Crap! In our haste to get Kacchan and Tokoyami back, we didn’t notice there were more villains here!_ Izuku realized as he recoiled from the heat of the fire attack and looked over their new foes. The same Zorua who had been fighting Uraraka and Asui earlier was one of them, and the other two were a Kantonian Ninetales with multiple horrific burn scars and a Girafarig in a black-and-white skintight body suit.

“Watch it, Dabi, you almost incinerated me back there!” the Delphox complained to the Ninetales as he picked himself up from the ground.

“You’re a Fire-type, Compress, it would take a lot more effort to incinerate you than I put into that blast.” The Ninetales, Dabi, retorted dismissively “At least have the decency to show some gratitude.”

“Dabi, you missed, these brats aren’t dead! They were on Shigaraki’s kill list!” said the Girafarig

“No, they weren’t!” said the Girafarig’s tail.

The ungulate Psychic-type then proceeded to jump at Todoroki, clearly intending to stomp him. The Vulpix quickly retaliated with a Subzero Slammer.

Izuku tried to rush over to Todoroki to help, but he was cut off by a blond-furred paw swiping at him. Izuku only barely managed to avoid his face getting raked in by a series of sharp claws.

“Hi Izuku! My name is Toga!” the Zorua squealed with delight as she tackled the Eevee to the ground and pinned him “Oh, you are _so_ much cuter up close!”

Izuku had to suppress a shudder as the villain, Toga, suddenly brought her face closer to his, sporting a huge toothy grin that showed off her sharp canines.

“You know what would make you look even more adorable, though?” she said in a singsong voice “IF YOU JUST BLED A LITTLE MORE!”

Toga lifted her paw over her head and bared her claws, which were so sharp Izuku could practically _hear_ them glistening.

Before Toga could bring down her claws and slash Izuku, though, she was suddenly knocked away by a swift, powerful blow.

“Get off of him!” cried an enraged Shoji “You’ve already lost! I’ve got our friends back!”

“Wait, really?! Awesome, Shoji!” Izuku hastily got back to his feet, only staggering a little… okay, staggering a lot, but he still didn’t pass out.

Shoji nodded and held one of his claws open to show two tiny black marbles sitting at his palm.

“When that Delphox threw that net at us, I realized that his Quirk is something that allows to shrink objects down to a miniscule size and back.” Said Shoji “It probably doesn’t work on living beings, and that’s why he needed to use whatever these things containing Bakugo and Tokoyami are. Anyway, I managed to slip my hand into his pockets and get them out when we tackled him.”

Izuku smiled “That’s fantastic! Now all we need to do is figure out how to get these things back to their normal size so we can get Kacchan and Tokoyami out!”

“We can figure that out once we get to safety!” cried Todoroki as he launched one final attack at the Girafarig he was fighting before bolting in the opposite direction. Izuku and Shoji followed him.

“UGH! These jerks trying to get between me and my bae!” Toga wailed melodramatically.

“Oh my fucking Arceus, will you get your priorities straight, you stupid little creep?!” Dabi snapped at her. “Retrieve our target!”

Neither villain had to do anything, though, as Izuku, Todoroki and Shoji had their escape path blocked by a familiar pitch-black mist portal.

“It’s been five minutes since the signal.” Kurogiri said in a flat tone “Let’s go.”

“Aww, well fine.” Said Toga “I guess I’ll be seeing you later, Izu-kun~!” then she walked into a portal that had materialized next to her. Meanwhile, the Girafarig villain that Todoroki had been fighting jumped into a different one.

“But we can’t leave yet!” Dabi protested “Those kids have our target!”

“No, they do not.” Compress chuckled. The Delphox then snapped his finger, and the two black marbles in Shoji’s claw suddenly returned to normal size and revealed themselves to be pieces of wood.

Izuku gasped. But… Shoji said he’d grabbed those from Compress’s pocket! And he had definitely stuffed Kacchan and Tokoyami in there! Izuku had seen it. They all did.

“You look surprised, children.” Compress said bemusedly as he took off his mask “Here’s a little lesson on the art of entertainment: if a stage magician is flaunting something shiny in a painfully obvious manner, that’s because there’s something else he doesn’t want you to see.”

Compress then stuck out his tongue to reveal that he’d concealed two black marbles, identical to the ones Shoji had pulled out of his coat, inside his mouth.

“But… but how…” Todoroki stammered.

“While you were chasing me I prepared decoys, then slipped them into my pocket when you used your Ice-type Quirk.” Compress said simply. Placing the marbles into his arm, the Delphox snapped his fingers again, and the objects grew to the size of small oranges. “Basic misdirection, really. Sorry about the deception, I just thought it’d be nice to give you kids the false sense of victory before snatching it away.”

Compress put his mask back on and then backed away into another of Kurogiri’s portals and performed a grandiose bow as though he were in a stage being applauded by an audience.

A blast of light suddenly hit Compress in the face, destroying his mask and stunning him so greatly that he dropped the spheres containing Kacchan and Tokoyami.

Izuku turned his head in the direction the attack had come from, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of his Starmie classmate.

“Aoyama! I have no idea where you came from, but thanks!”

“A-a-anytime, _mon amie_!” replied a terrified Aoyama.

Meanwhile, Shoji and Todoroki leaped forward to catch their classmates. Shoji managed to grab one of the spheres, but when Todoroki reached out for the other one, Dabi turned out to be faster, and snatched it up with a swift bite of his snout.

“Aw, well isn’t that a shame… poor little Shoto Todoroki.” The villainous Ninetales cooed as he knocked Todoroki down to the ground with a slap of one of his tails.

NO! Izuku clenched his teeth and dashed forward, scraping his battered right foreleg across the dirt as he ran. He didn’t care, though. In fact, he barely even felt any pain. All Izuku felt was fear and horror. Either Kacchan or Tokoyami was taken away before his very eyes. He couldn’t let that happen. Unfortunately, Izuku seemed to be running at an agonizingly slow pace. It was like he was in one of those nightmares he used to have a lot when he was little, where he would try to run to or from something, but his feet felt too heavy… only this time it was very much real.

“Okay, Compress, these stupid balls both look exactly the same, how are we supposed to know which one has Bakugo?” Dabi asked his Delphox comrade, his speech slightly slurred from holding the black sphere.

“Eh…” Compress awkwardly scratched the back of his head “To be honest I have no idea how to open it… heck, I only had the vaguest of ideas on how these things worked until I used them.”

“…Wonderful, fantastic, just what wee needed!” Dabi yelled sarcastically.

“Take it easy, will you!” said Compress as he snatched the ball from the Ninetales “Maybe… if I press this?”

The Delphox placed a finger on the eyelike marking at the ball’s center. Suddenly, the object split nearly in two and a blast of white light came bursting out of it. The light quickly took the shape of a Typhlosion, and soon enough, Kacchan was back, gasping for breath and looking around in utter shock and confusion.

“Oh, look at that, we got the right one! Yay us!” said Compress as he grabbed the dazed Kacchan by the neck. “Mother of Lugia, couldn’t this kid have waited a little longer to evolve?! He’s freaking humongous!”

“Let’s just go already.” Dabi groaned as he turned around and jumped into the portal. Compress started to follow, though he was having a bit of a harder time going through now that Kacchan seemed to be more aware of the situation and was now trying to writhe himself free.

“KACCHAN!! NO!!!” Izuku yelled, frustrated at how slowly he was moving. Just a little further. Come on, just a little further! If Kacchan kept struggling he might just make it in time to-

“Deku!” Kacchan suddenly stilled, giving Izuku a terrified glare “Don’t… get close…”

Now that Kacchan wasn’t moving, Compress could finally drag him inside the portal much more easily. Desperate, Izuku made a jump, hoping to make it to his friend just before the portal closed… but it was too late. Kacchan was enveloped by the black mist, which promptly vanished, and Izuku dashed through the spot where he’d been standing not a minute ago. The Eevee landed on the ground with a thud, and for a moment he just lied there, unmoving, wide-eyed with terror. Kacchan was gone. The villains had taken him. All because Izuku had been too slow. Too weak.

Izuku screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly three months later and I still can't get this song out of my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoZ0Zwab6Oc
> 
> Really not satisfied with how the drawing came out, but honestly I hadn't updated in a while and I was tired of putting it on hold, so here we go. The choice of Cacturne for Moonfish probably seems weird, but I thought the way Cacturne uses Needle Arm in the anime (as shown here: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Harley_Cacturne_Needle_Arm.png) looked pretty cool and sort of reminiscent of how Moonfish uses his teeth, so... yeah. Anyway, I'm sure by now readers should have guessed exactly what type of human technology the characters are dealing with, especially with this chapter's illustration.


	28. Rescue Teams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title for this was "Pocket Monsters"

News of the events that had transpired at the summer training camp spread like wildfire. Fifteen students in critical condition, eleven more sporting injuries, one kidnapped by the villains. And then there was the fact that the pro-heroes present at the camp hadn’t gotten away unscathed either; one had suffered grievous injuries from blunt force trauma to the head, and another was missing. At the very least, the students and instructors hadn’t gone down without a fight, since three villains had been apprehended: a teenaged Koffing, determined to be the one responsible for the toxic fumes that had hospitalized a huge chunk of students; Moonfish the Cacturne, an escaped death row inmate who had a disturbing taste for flesh, the consumption of which had been outlawed centuries before the emergence of Quirks; and Muscular, a Buzzwole serial killer most infamous for having caused the death of the pro-hero couple Water Hose. Despite this, though, it was clear that this had been a complete victory for the villains, and since the attack on USJ had already dealt a blow to the general populace’s faith in UA’s security… well, it’d be truly miraculous if Nezu and the school’s staff were ever forgiven.

Sure enough, the very next day after the villains’ attack Toshinori, Nezu, Mic, Snipe, and Midnight had a meeting at UA to discuss the situation, and the building was _swarmed_ with crowds of newscasters and interviewers demanding answers.

Toshinori gritted his teeth, furious at himself for not being there for his students. The thought that these poor children were fighting for their lives while he was resting and taking it easy was unbearable. It made him feel guilty. After all, the last time his students had been targeted by the League of Villains was because he was supposed to be with them, so naturally, the faculty had assumed that the kids would be safer if Toshinori didn’t attend the summer camp… at that moment, Toshinori felt like a sorry excuse for a Symbol of Peace.

As Toshinori and the other teachers discussed the incident, a couple of important points were brought up. First, the fact that the villains had probably targeted young Bakugo due to his violent displays at the Sports Fesitval. Indeed, the young Typhlosion had a lot of personality traits that were… _unorthodox_ for a hero-in-training, to put it mildly. Toshinori doubted very much that the League of Villains would be able to sway the youth to their side (as violent as Bakugo was, he was still an aspiring hero who had voluntarily applied for the school, so there had to be a moral compass in there _somewhere,_ right?), but since they were, well, _villains_ and all, they could always just take the easy route and brainwash the young Typhlosion. Whether it was through brainwashing or Bakugo knowingly making a heel turn, though, a student of UA becoming a villain would be the end of the prestigious school and would deal a huge blow to heroes and society as a whole.

A second and equally troubling point was pointed out by Present Mic, and it was the fact that despite the location of the summer camp being a top secret (only the teachers and the Wild, Wild Pussycats had been entrusted with that information), the League of Villains had still found it relatively quickly, meaning there was a strong probability of a double agent in the faculty staff or even one of the students. This was pushed to the backburner, though: right now, the last thing UA needed was infighting and suspicion among its teachers.

Just when Toshonori thought that the meeting was only going in circles, he received a call from Tsukauchi, who finally brought a shining light of hope to the doom and gloom:

“Toshi, I think we have a lead on where the League of Villains’ hideout is…”

Turns out, about two weeks before the summer camp incident, the police had an officer gather information on the League of Villains, and that officer happened upon a witness who’d seen a Ninetales with burn scars on his body enter a building that was supposed to be vacant. That Ninetales was a match to the description and species of one of the villains who had attacked the camp.

“We plan to ask the cooperation from many pro-heroes for this rescue” said Tsukauchi “and we need your power too, All Might.”

Of course, Toshinori accepted in a heartbeat. He’d make the villains _pay_ for what they had done.

“Before we do that, though, there’s something I want to disclose with you and Nezu. Just the two of you. And if possible, I’d like for you to come and talk later today.”

Toshinori’s normally floppy ears perked up slightly at this.

“Hm? What is this about, Tsukauchi?”

“Well… it’s kind of strange… I’m not even sure how to properly explain it...” The Gumshoos’s voice trailed off, nervous “it has to do with _how_ the villains kidnapped your student…”

“Alright. I’ll ask Nezu.”

“All Might, he _needs_ to come with you.” Tsukauchi urged “We need the most brilliant mind on the planet to take a look at what we found.”

Toshinori found this a bit odd, but didn’t press for further details, assuming that things would be cleared up once he met with his friend face to face.

* * *

“I’m glad you two could make it” Tsukauchi said with a relieved sigh when he saw the Jolteon and Togedemaru enter his office.

“All Might told me you had something urgent to discuss with us privately related to the kidnapping.” Said Nezu as he and Toshi found places to sit.

Tsukauchi nodded “As you know, we interviewed the heroes and uninjured students for information, and five of them said something that was equal parts interesting and unsettling about the kidnapping.”

“What do you mean by that?” Toshinori asked.

Tsukauchi then reached for something under his desk and pulled out a plastic bag containing two halves of… something. The two halves were hollow, and it was obvious that they were pieces of the same artifact, which if joined together would make a near-perfect sphere. Toshinori could see that the interior of these domed halves had what appeared to be computer chips lining it, so it was evidently some sort of machine. The Jolteon gasped as he instantly realized what the object was: a human artifact, specifically one of those mysterious orbs whose original purpose had never been discovered to date. Except this one was clearly new. Toshinori looked over at Nezu and although the Togedemaru didn’t show any change in facial expression, his whole body did seem to go stiff.

“According to the students who gave us this contraption, the villains used another identical one to contain Bakugo. The villains apparently tried to abduct another student the same way, but were fortunately unsuccessful, as his classmates managed to rescue and free him.” Tsukauchi explained as he set down the bag containing the object.

“Wait, who else did the villains try to take?” Toshinori said, suppressing a growl of rage. These villains had some nerve. They already had their sights one student but then had the gall to try to kidnap another?!

“A Murkrow named Fumikage Tokoyami.” Said Tsukauchi “He and the students who saved him approached me to talk about the kidnapping artifacts. From what I was told, if a Pokémon is struck by these orbs, they’ll be converted into pure energy and then sucked inside. Tokoyami said that the experience thankfully wasn’t painful, and from the looks of it didn’t cause him any physical harm, though he did say that the whole experience felt like he’d been put in a trance or suspended animation.”

Toshinori’s eyes widened in sheer bafflement “E-excuse me?!”

“Yeah, I know. Sounds insane. Ridiculous even.” Said Tsukauchi “I personally wouldn’t believe it for even a second if it wasn’t for the fact that I'm a walking lie detector and that I held the solid physical evidence in my own paws. I actually even started considering the possibility that my Quirk Stakeout could turn out to be wrong sometimes…”

“No. I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with your Quirk. Still, this is troubling news indeed,” said Nezu, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started “the fact that the villains were capable of recreating such human technology… that knowledge was supposed to be lost forever…”

Toshinori and Tsukauchi turned to look at UA’s principal in alarm.

“Principal…” Toshinori said in a low voice “just what do you know about this?”

Nezu sighed “I’m only telling you two because I know you’re trustworthy, but you must promise me that you won’t speak of this to anyone -not even close friends, colleagues or family- unless the villains turn out to have more of these artifacts. Otherwise, we’d only cause unnecessary panic.”

Toshinori and Tsukauchi exchanged confused looks before inching closer to Nezu, who began speaking in a voice so low it was hard to hear what he was saying.

“I’m sure you both can tell that these spherical objects are nearly identical to the most common human artifacts. And you also know that said artifacts are among the few human technologies that Pokémon have never been able to successfully replicate.” Nezu said matter-of-factly. Toshinori and Tsukauchi nodded.

“Well, the thing about that is that it’s, to put it bluntly, a complete lie. That’s just what the general populace is taught. In reality, the true purpose of these human artifacts was discovered decades ago, and not only that, but some very intelligent and industrious scientists did in fact manage to recreate them.”

Nezu paused briefly, and Toshinori saw him tremble slightly.

“And they work exactly how you say our students described… because these objects were meant to store Pokémon inside them. Think of a cage, then imagine it being as portable as possible, and that’s essentially what these things are…”

“W-what?!” Toshinori asked, making an effort not to scream the word out loud.

Nezu nodded solemnly “Yes, humans basically used these objects so they could carry Pokémon around more easily, I imagine this was especially helpful with the larger species. In any case, when the truth about the human artifacts was discovered, it was agreed by the world’s governments that such a thing was far too dangerous to be common knowledge precisely because it would facilitate situations like what happened to Bakugo, so it was decided that officially the truth about these artifacts, which were given the codename of ‘Pokéballs’, was that their true purpose never was and never will be discovered, the scientists who recreated this technology were sworn to absolute secrecy, were forced to live the rest of their lives in complete isolation, and a few of them even went as far as to beg for their memories to be erased, all to ensure that the knowledge on how to recreate Pokéballs could never fall into the wrong clutches. As a result, very few Pokémon know of the true name and nature of Pokéballs, and none know how to build them… or at least that’s what I thought.”

“Because the League of Villains somehow managed to recreate them on their own anyway.” Toshinori said morosely. Clearly All for One had something to do with this. Heck, he may have even made his own Pokéballs himself; being hundreds of years old, he’d have more than enough time to figure out how…

Nezu gave a slight nod and then addressed Tsukauchi “You told us that the villains tried to kidnap two students with these Pokéballs, meaning they had multiple at their disposal.”

“Yeah…” said Tsukauchi “In fact the students told me that the villains were in possession of at least three of them. The first was used to capture Bakugo and it was successful because the kids were taken by surprise, then the villain who did the deed used a second one on young Tokoyami which was intercepted. But then he pulled a third one which was successful until the Murkrow was freed. That is the Pokéball that was provided to us.” Tsukauchi lifted the plastic bag containing the wrecked orb and shook it lightly before setting it back down.

“And the second Pokéball was intercepted, what happened to it?” Toshinori asked.

“One of your students, a Hybrid Vulpix named Shoto Todoroki, informed me that he used his fire Quirk against the object when a villain tried to use it, but we combed the entire forest and found no trace of it, not even charred fragments, so the thing was either literally completely burned to ashes or the villains retrieved it or its remains.”

“If it’s the second one, then I hope it’s been rendered irreparable from young Todoroki’s fire attack…” All Might muttered. “But if the villains turn out to have more of these things, then it might cause problems for young Bakugo’s rescue…”

“If we use the element of surprise to our advantage, then the villains could be incapacitated before they could even try.” Nezu said thoughtfully “However, extra precautions are still necessary.”

“Should we relay this information at the meeting, though?” Tsukauchi asked “You said that this isn’t common knowledge, Nezu, so I understand if you’d rather keep it that way, but at the same time we’d be essentially handicapping ourselves for no good reason if we withdrew information this vital. I know there’s a chance that the villains might not have any more of these ‘Pokéballs’, in which case divulging this knowledge would turn out to be pointless anyway, but suppose that they’ve got more waiting in the wings?”

For a while, the three Pokémon were completely silent as they pondered this predicament, and it was Nezu who finally spoke.

“I suppose it can’t be helped.” The Togedemaru said with a sigh “Though I’d advise that we make every Pokémon present at the meeting swear to absolute secrecy regarding this knowledge. We can’t let it spread too far and cause a panic unless we know for sure that the villains can fabricate more Pokéballs.”

“If it comes to worst, I could always launch my own solo investigation into the matter.” Said Tsukauchi “If the League of Villains has a way to fabricate Pokéballs en masse like it appears to be the case with the Type: Nulls, then it’d be best to shut that down as quick as possible. For now, though, let’s focus on getting the Typhlosion child back safely.”

“Right.” Said Toshinori.

* * *

The next day, the emergency meeting to discuss the plans for young Bakugo’s rescue mission was underway. The heroes that had been summoned were of top caliber: Endeavor the Emboar and Best Jeanist the Lurantis, respectively heroes #2 and #3 based on rankings; Gang Orca, ranked 10th in the hero rankings, a Garchomp with a powerful Mega Evolution Quirk; Edgeshot the Whimsicott, ranked #5; Kamui Woods the Trevenant and Mount Lady the Tsareena, who were newcomers to the scene and were already rapidly climbing through the ranks, though Mount Lady had received a black mark recently due to her recklessness endangering an intern’s life, thankfully she’d worked incredibly diligently since then and had become noticeably more humble, so she’d been given a chance; Tiger the Incineroar, heavy-hitter of the Wild Wild Pussycats, assigned female at birth, he’d transitioned years ago shortly after fully evolving; and lastly there was Gran Torino the Hawlucha, Toshinori’s old mentor coming out of retirement to get involved in the hero scene once again. And of course, there was Toshinori himself.

“We’ve gathered some of our finest heroes here today. Thank you all for answering our call.” Tsukauchi began “Now, let’s talk strategy…”

 _Young Bakugo, please hold on…_ Toshinori thought, gritting his teeth, and hoping that their plan would go off without a hitch. _We’re coming to save you…_

* * *

Mere minutes after Kacchan was taken by the villains, the damage Izuku had sustained throughout that evening finally caught up to him. The young Eevee lost consciousness just as the ambulances arrived. As he slept, Izuku dreamt only of Kacchan’s horror-stricken face as he was dragged through that pitch-black portal. Over and over, Izuku failed to reach him in time, and at the end, Shigaraki’s voice rebounded inside Izuku’s head, repeating the threat he’d made during their last encounter:

_“Next time we meet, I’ll likely have to kill you.”_

When Izuku finally awoke the first thing he noticed was that his mother had visited and left behind a plate of sliced apples and a get well soon card, and afterwards Izuku’s classmates entered his room to greet him. Everyone was present except Jiro, Hagakure, and Yaoyorozu. The former two were still unconscious from the Poison Gas, while the latter, though awake, still needed to rest due to having suffered a concussion while she and a Class 1-B student were escaping from a Type: Null that the villains had brought with them.

…And of course, there was Kacchan.

“It’s all my fault…” Izuku said to his classmates as he lay there bedridden, tears streaming down his face “The whole reason I have my Quirk is to save other Pokémon, yet I couldn’t save someone who was _literally right in front of me_! Kacchan was right within my reach and he’s gone…”

“Alright, so let’s get him back.” Said Kirishima.

Izuku and the rest of his classmates stared at the Midnight Lycanroc in shock.

“H-hey, this isn’t the time for jokes…” said Kaminari.

“I’m not joking!” said Kirishima “One of our classmates was kidnapped, dude, if I ignore this how can I call myself a real hero?”

“And how exactly are you planning to rescue Bakugo? We don’t exactly have any leads…” Ashido pointed out.

“Actually, we do.” Kirishima gestured to the Vulpix beside him “See, Todoroki and I were here yesterday, and Yaoyorozu was already awake and being interviewed by All Might and a Gumshoos officer and, well… we kinda sorta overheard Yaoyorozu saying that she’d created and stuck a tracking device to the Type: Null, and then she made a receiver for All Might and the officer to follow the signal, so-”

“You’re going to ask Yaoyorozu to make another receiver so you can track the villains and by extension Bakugo.” Iida finished the sentence in a flat tone that carried only the slightest hint of anger.

Kirishima morosely stared down at the floor “…Yeah.”

“Well, don’t get involved!” Iida snapped at him “We should stay out of this and leave the actual Arceusdamn professionals to deal with Bakugo’s rescue!”

“Look, I already did my share of staying out of the fight back at camp!” Kirishima bit back “I’m not going to stand back and do nothing again!”

“Besides, we don’t know for how long the villains plan on keeping Bakugo alive…” Said Todoroki, trailing off at the last word, clearly having more to say on the matter but not wanting to state it out loud.

The rest of the students exchanged nervous glances between themselves.

“Kirishima, Todoroki…” Asui said in the calmest tone she could manage right now “you do realize that Iida’s right, don’t you? We have to be rational about this.”

The rest of Izuku’s classmates muttered in agreement.

Kirishima trembled lightly with frustration, looking over his classmates “Guys, come on! Look if you won’t help me, fine! I’ll just do it myself! Heck, I’ll track Bakugo down by scent if I have to!”

“Kirishima, noble intentions don’t automatically turn bad actions good.” Said Asui “By going against the rules and getting involved, we’d be acting more like villains…”

There was a long silence among the teenage Pokémon after that, and it was only interrupted by a Wigglytuff doctor’s arrival.

“I’m gonna need you kids to exit the room.” Said the doctor “I need to have a talk with Midoriya.”

Izuku’s classmates wished the young Eevee a safe recovery and promptly excused themselves, clearly relieved to have a tense moment being interrupted. Kirishima hung back for a bit longer, though.

“Listen,” he whispered to Izuku “I’ve talked to Yaoyorozu about this, and if we’re doing this rescue mission, it’s gotta be tonight. I know you’ve got some hardcore injuries, so chances are you won’t be able to go even if you do accept, but I thought I’d still invite you anyway, since you… well, you’re probably the most torn up about this…”

Izuku averted his gaze, grateful for his Lycanroc friend’s consideration, but frustrated because Izuku had been in a situation like this before with Iida and knew firsthand that the last thing he should be doing is getting involved again. Shame Kirishima’s offer was so tempting…

“We’ll be meeting at the hospital’s entrance after dark.” Said Kirishima, interrupting the Eevee’s thoughts and then quietly walking out of the room and leaving Izuku alone with the doctor, who proceeded to remove the casts off Izuku’s forelegs.

…wait, _casts_?

“Um, w-why were both my forelegs in casts?” Izuku asked “I only injured my right foreleg.”

“Yeah, turns out that you fractured your left foreleg as well. You probably didn’t notice due to a combination of your right foreleg having the more obvious injuries and adrenaline rush masking the pain.” The doctor explained “Anyway, your school nurse Recovery Girl came by a few times to perform healing sessions.” The Wigglytuff doctor chuckled “She’s quite a bit tired of your antics, you know. Said something about a chart that she ‘might as well fill out for the rest of the dang year’. Well, anyway, you’re healed up enough now that you should be able to walk just fine, but…”

“But what?” Izuku stared at the doctor.

The doctor sighed as he started wrapping Izuku’s forelegs in new bandages “Kid, you’ve put your forelegs under _a lot_ of strain these past few months and this latest incident had them sustain injuries far worse than any previous times: at best your forelegs can withstand this kind of immense damage two, maybe three more times before they become completely unusable. Of the two, your right foreleg got it the worst, obviously, but left isn’t faring that much better either, since you did spend several hours running on it while it was fractured. In short, you can’t afford to put your forelegs under any serious strain anymore, or they’ll become permanently paralyzed and you won’t be able to use them anymore.”

Izuku looked at his forelegs with no small amount of dread just as the doctor finished patching them up. The scars of his crooked right paw appeared to have gotten even larger than they were before, and Izuku had probably accumulated more of those across the entire foreleg. Only two or three 100% smashes left… it was clear that Izuku would not be able to use his forelegs in combat anymore…

“For now, just focus on rehabilitation.” the doctor continued “Use your forelegs constantly, but stick to simple exercises like stretches, and no more trying to swipe and slash at things with them using your Quirk. You’ll be discharged today so you can go home and rest.”

“Thank you, Doctor… sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused…” Izuku replied, his voice a squeaky whisper. To the young Eevee’s surprise, the doctor smiled at him.

“Kid, patching up Pokémon who’re injured and/or sick is _my job_. I wouldn’t be doing it if it was ‘trouble’.” The Doctor then handed Izuku a piece of paper “Besides, _you saved a life_ , and if you ask me that’s the opposite of causing trouble. Healing begins in the mind, kiddo. Don’t beat yourself up over your mistakes. Stay positive.”

With that, the doctor left and Izuku looked at the paper he’d been given. It was a letter from Kouta.

_Dear Midoriya-san, I’m sorry for having hit you and your Lucario friend the first time we met. I wanted to thank you for saving my life even though you barely know me and even though I was so mean to you… please get better soon so I can thank you properly later._

_-Kouta_

Reading Kouta’s letter brightened up Izuku’s otherwise rather bleak day. He then made his decision.

After reading Kouta’s letter, Izuku made a call to his mom, letting her know that he’d been discharged and that he’d be home by tomorrow. He didn’t tell her why. She was already terrified and distressed enough as it was, and Izuku didn’t want to make that worse. He knew it was risky, even if he wasn’t planning on fighting any villains this time, and that her really shouldn’t be getting involved, especially with his injuries, but… after he’d failed to save Kacchan once already… Izuku shook his head. He just couldn’t do nothing.

With a sigh, the young Eevee waited for the sun to set, and then he headed outside to meet Kirishima and Todoroki at the hospital’s entrance. On the way there, Izuku bumped into another classmate.

“Yaoyorozu!” he called to his Delibird classmate, who greeted him with a tiny smile.

“Glad to see you’ve finally recovered.” She said, “You had everyone worried, you know.”

Izuku could only respond with a smile and a soft hum as he gave his bandaged forelegs a quick glance.

“So, um…” Izuku mumbled “Kirishima’s rescue plan…”

“Yeah, we should go outside.” Said Yaoyorozu “They’re waiting for us at the entrance.”

Sure enough, as soon as the two young Pokémon stepped outside, a familiar Midnight Lycanroc and a Hybrid Vulpix were staring at them.

“So… did you decide?” Kirishima asked hopefully.

Before Yaoyorozu could answer, though, they were interrupted.

“Of all the Pokémon to try to pull this stunt, why did it have to be _you two_?”

Izuku and the others looked at where the voice had come from and they saw Iida walk towards them. The Lucario was wearing an expression that was a mix of anger and sadness.

“Midoriya, Todoroki…” Iida stopped in front of the group, though he had eyes only for the Eevee and Vulpix “you were the ones who stopped me when I acted recklessly back in Hosu, so why are you now making the same mistakes that I made?! Our school is already on thin ice at it is, so any action we the students make is liable to make it look even worse!”

After a brief pause, Izuku was the first to respond. Tentatively, the Eevee took a few steps towards his friend “Iida… we have to! I know we shouldn’t be breaking rules, but-!”

Izuku didn’t finish that sentence, as Iida punched him across the face hard in a fit of frustration. Shocked by the action, Izuku could only stare at the floor, the cheek Iida had struck throbbing.

“Do you really think I’m not worried?!” the Lucario cried “I’m the Class Rep, dammit! It’s my duty to look after you all! And when I saw your injuries I was reminded of my own brother!” Iida’s voice turned quivery, indicating that he’d started to tear up “What if-what if your injuries become irreparable like his, all because I didn’t step in?!”

Izuku suddenly felt Iida grab him by the sides of his ruff collar and lift him so the two were at eye level, staring at each other’s face. Izuku felt a stab of guilt upon looking at his friend’s tear-filled face.

“Do just not see where I’m coming from?! …Or do you just not care?”

“Iida…” Izuku said softly “of course we do… it’s-it’s not… we’re not planning to fight.”

Shocked, Iida placed Izuku back on the ground. “What-”

“What he said.” Todoroki stepped forward “We’re not stupid. We never expected to face the villains head on and win. The plan is to get Bakugo back _without_ fighting.”

“Yeah, we’re going on a covert stealthy mission.” Kirishima said with a nod. “That way we _technically_ wouldn’t be breaking any laws.”

“Look, I acceded to make an extra receiver for you because I trust Todoroki’s judgement.” Said Yaoyorozu “Still… there’s a lot that could go wrong, so I’ll be going with you as backup.”

“What?!” Iida exclaimed “Yaoyorozu, come on, you’re supposed to be the class genius!”

“Speak for yourself, bruh, I think she made the right decision!” Kirishima gave Yaoyorozu a huge toothy smile.

Seeing how the Lucario was about to go on another emotional outburst, Izuku walked closer to him.

“Iida, listen… I know I’m injured, but as long as I can still move, I can’t just sit still…” Izuku reared up and placed his front paws on Iida’s legs “because all I can think about is saving Kacchan!”

“Alright… looks like we’ll never agree…” Iida relented, clenching his fists “So, I’m coming with you. But only because I want to make sure that you keep your word about not fighting, got that?”

Izuku smiled. “Yes!”

“Heck yeah!” Kirishima pumped a fist “Looks like Mission: Retrieve the Temperamental Typhlosion is underway!”

Izuku’s chest swelled with hope as he looked over each of his friends.

_Kacchan, please hold on… we’re coming to save you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of drawings here, I just couldn't think of anything...
> 
> Anyways, I'm not planning for this to be the only chapter for this week. Hopefully I'll be able to post the next one in time.
> 
> Also, if you're wondering how on earth Kouta could have written a letter when he's a species that lacks arms... he used his mouth. Just. Grabbed a pencil with his mouth and started scribbling. In fact, this is how most Pokemon that don't have arms or aren't bipedal generally prefer to write; quadrupeds who have paws do have *just* enough dexterity to hold and use things, but as a rule they usually prefer to handle things with their mouth, or sometimes even tail/s, whenever possible.


	29. Legendary (Christmas Special)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here’s another interlude chapter. This one takes place when Izuku is in early middle school, right after the flashback in Chapter 5 where Izuku gets laughed at by other Eevees for wanting to evolve. I’ve actually had this one in mind for quite a while, but I wasn’t sure where to place it, so now that it’s Christmas I just decided to make it the “special” of sorts for the Winter Holidays.

Izuku could still hear the other Eevees’ mocking laughter as he slowly made his way home.

 _“Listen,_ Midoriya _. A Quirkless Pokémon has no business trying to emulate the world’s greatest hero. You’d only be insulting All Might. And we thought you were a fan of his.”_

Izuku sighed as he did his best to wipe his tears away. Though there wasn’t no one around to see him cry, Izuku still felt embarrassed for tearing up so easily. What was he thinking wanting to evolve? It wouldn’t change the fact that he was useless…

“Deku, you bastard!”

Izuku stilled and slowly turned his head. Sure enough, there was Kacchan stomping towards him.

“H-hi K-Kacchan… w-what are you d-doing here?” Izuku squeaked as he tried to make himself smaller.

“Don’t try to play dumb!” Kacchan growled “I saw you walking away from an Evolution Stone sale! You were planning to evolve, weren’t you?!”

“I-I-I…” Izuku tried to apologize, but his mouth just wasn’t cooperating.

“And before you say that you changed your mind, that doesn’t matter!” said Kachan, as he took a few menacing steps towards the trembling Izuku “You still considered evolving strongly enough that you tried to get a stone! …and you were thinking of getting a Thunderstone, weren’t you?”

Izuku made the mistake of flinching, which immediately confirmed Kacchan’s guess as correct. The Quilava shot him a venomous look of disdain as he ignited his paws with small explosions of Lava Plume.

“Pathetic.” Kacchan spat “To think a Quirkless loser like you thought he was deserving of imitating All Might…”

Without warning, Kacchan suddenly lunged at Izuku and body-slammed him, pinning him to the ground. Then he started pelting Izuku with small blasts of Lava Plume. The Eevee curled himself into a ball in a futile attempt to shield himself from the assault. Kacchan’s attack couldn’t have lasted more than a minute or two at most, but to Izuku it felt like an eternity, with each hit, Izuku could feel his skin being burnt, with his fur providing little in the way of protection in any area that wasn’t his extremely fluffy neck. Then, when Kacchan was finally satisfied, he stopped.

“Let this be a lesson to you, you useless nerd!” he snarled “Don’t you ever dare even _think_ about trying to evolve ever again, especially into a Jolteon! Got that, Deku?!”

And then Kacchan struck Izuku one final time before turning around and walking away. For a while, the young Eevee could only lie there in the pavement, curled up and weeping rivers of tears. After a short while, though, Izuku realized it was getting late and he needed to get home, or his mom would be worried. Slowly, Izuku uncurled himself and stood back up, winching slightly from the pain of his burns. He then continued his trek home even more downtrodden than he already was.

* * *

“Welcome home, Izuku! Did you get that Thunderstone you want- IZUKU?!”

The young Eevee kept his sights firmly on the floor. Izuku had been hoping to sneak past his mom so she wouldn’t have to see the sorry state, but of course that hadn’t worked.

“Izuku, what happened?!” Izuku’s mother ran up to him and gently lifted his face up with a paw.

When he saw his mother’s concern-filled eyes, Izuku started tearing up again and promptly buried his face into her soft, silky fur. The Espeon softly embraced him. Izuku started crying loudly now.

“I changed my mind, I don’t want to evolve anymore, mom!” he said in between sobs “I _never_ want to evolve… I don’t deserve it… I was so stupid for having wanted that!”

“Oh, Izuku… baby, please don’t cry…” his mother wrapped her forked tail around Izuku and gently nuzzled him. “Why on earth would you not deserve to evolve?!”

Izuku tried to answer, but he was so distraught that all that came out of his mouth was nonsensical, whimpering gibberish, so mom kept nuzzling him until her son finally managed to calm down a little.

“Izuku… can you tell me what happened?” said the Espeon as she pulled away.

Izuku took a deep, shaky breath “I m-made the mistake of saying I was Quirkless out loud a-and some of th-the Pokémon who were also getting E-evolution Stones d-didn’t approve…”

Izuku’s mom’s expression turned stern “And who attacked you?”

“S-some Growlithe I hadn’t met b-before…” Izuku said softly. He didn’t like lying to his mom like this, but the young Eevee had learned the hard way that outing Kacchan or the other schoolmates’ bullying to adults did way more harm than good: teachers would at best only give the perpetrators a halfhearted warning that was never really followed upon, and at worst they’d outright brush Izuku off as being oversensitive and fishing for attention. And although Izuku knew his mom would ensure proper justice with the teachers… well, the one time he’d told his mom about one of Kacchan’s beatings and she’d complained to their school about it, it only resulted in the Quilava being more furious than ever and doubling down on treating Izuku badly, except that instead of attacking him with Lava Plume like usual, Kacchan stopped doing that for a while and then did just about everything else under the sun, like stealing Izuku’s lunch and then telling him that if he was hungry he should just “eat dirt”, which was followed up with having mud smeared all over his face. Or ruining Izuku’s homework so he’d get a bad grade. Or pushing him into the pond that was next to the school building. Yeah, it was no good getting the grown-ups involved… it was best if Izuku’s mom thought that he’d just been attacked by a random, nonexistent stranger that couldn’t be punished than by someone he knew.

His mother looked at him “Did you get any details on this Growlithe’s appearance at least?”

Izuku shook his head.

Inko hesitated a bit before letting out a visibly frustrated sigh “…well, let’s just get you cleaned up.”

Izuku’s mom gently started licking off the bigger clumps of dirt stuck to the young Eevee’s wounds. Izuku felt he was too old for his mother to clean him, but… the truth is he wasn’t in the mood to brush off affection. Fortunately, his mom finished quickly, and afterwards told him to take a proper cool water bath to clean the burns more thoroughly so they could apply lotion to them and bandage them.

* * *

“There. That was the last one.” said Inko as she finished patching up the last of Izuku’s burns.

This wasn’t the first time the little Eevee came home covered in bruises, but of course for Inko it never got any less horrifying to see her son bear the marks of bullying and assault. Honestly, the fact that Izuku hadn’t gotten a good look at his attacker was infuriatingly bad luck, since it meant they’d get away with basically assaulting a child. _Her_ child.

And all because he’d wanted to evolve, something that just about any Pokémon but Eevees especially tended to look forward to.

Inko knew it was extremely selfish of her, but she still couldn’t help but lament that neither she nor her husband had passed their Quirks down to their son. Not only did it present a huge obstacle for Izuku’s dream career, but the poor thing just couldn’t seem to be able to go anywhere or do anything without being on the receiving end of ridiculous ostracism. Sure, Inko was already aware that Quirkless Pokémon were targets of discrimination, but the discovery that the hostility was so deep that some individuals out there felt Quirkless Pokémon were somehow undeserving of evolution was, to put it bluntly, so monumentally stupid that the Espeon almost felt like screaming bloody murder to the heavens.

Inko remembered how when she was a kid and her Quirk manifested, she’d actually felt a little sad that the fact that her Quirk fell into the Psychic-type category meant that she would automartically end up becoming an Espeon. It wasn’t that Inko was unhappy being an Espeon, nor had she been against evolving into that Eeveelution, it’s just that she’d felt it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to make that choice herself rather than her evolution being predestined by the kind of power she’d manifested. Oh, how naïve had she been. After all, her son technically had that ability to choose his own evolutionary path, but the tradeoff of being Quirkless in a world that overwhelmingly favored those with power was certainly not a fair one… and moreover, Izuku had been shamed out of trying to make a choice anyway…

And worse still, there was nothing Inko could do about it. She hated feeling so powerless to stop her baby from being assaulted over something that he had no control over. The only thing she could do for her son was to try to console him.

“Izuku… would you like to eat something? I’ve got just enough to make curry for both of us…”

Izuku simply shook his head slowly. “I’m not hungry…”

“That’s fine… d-do you want anything else?” Inko prodded

“No thanks, mom, I’m fine.” Izuku then sulked towards his bed and buried himself under a blanket before curling up.

Inko sighed. It was worth a shot. Izuku did probably need time alone to calm down a little. Besides, he’d probably get hungry by dinnertime anyway.

Just as she turned around to leave her son’s room, however, he called her again.

“Mom, why do we say things like ‘oh my Arceus’? What does that mean?”

Inko stopped in surprise and turned to look at her son, whose head had peeked from under the blanket. Well, that was certainly a random question…

“Why do you ask?” said Inko.

Izuku just shrugged and climbed back down from his bed. “It’s just something that I’ve been kinda wondering for a while. We say things like ‘for the love of Arceus’ or ‘sweet Xerneas’ or great Giratina’ and stuff like that and… well it’s kina weird, isn’t it? Like, what do those word even mean?”

Inko noticed how Izuku had visibly slumped and kept shifting his eyes to the floor. Oh, so Izuku was just trying to distract himself from what had happened.

“I thought I had told you already?” Inko asked inquisitively.

“I kinda forgot, I guess.” Izuku shrugged.

Inko gave her son a slight smile. It wasn’t just that Izuku was trying to distract himself, he also wanted comfort but was simply too proud to ask. Understandable, given he was in the cusp of adolescence, but still, the Espeon couldn’t help but find it a little funny that even someone as sweet and meek as her son would have some smidges of that pre-teen attitude of “too cool for my parent now”, however slight.

“Well, Arceus, Xerneas, Giratina and other such expressions we use for exclamations are supposedly the names of some very special kinds of Pokémon. See, you know how when humans beings were around, they were the dominant species while Pokémon were their companions? Well, supposedly, there were a few Pokémon exempt from that ‘rule’, since they were said to be so powerful that instead of keeping them as companions, humans instead revered them, almost like gods. They were known as ‘The Great Pokémon of Legend’, or ‘Legendary Pokémon’ for short.”

“Right, and then, after the humans died out, supposedly these ‘Legendary Pokémon’ disappeared as well…” said Izuku.

“I thought you said you forgot!” Inko said with a light chuckle.

“Hey, I did say ‘kinda’, I still remember some details!” Izuku bit back good naturedly.

“I guess that’s fair.” Inko laughed “Well, anyway, when us Pokémon became civilized and began studying the past, a lot of remnants of the humans’ dead cultures were dug up, many of which we ended up adopting. Among them was the worship of Legendary Pokémon, although these days it’s become hard to find any genuine believers in these Legendary Pokémon, especially with the advent of Quirks. The primary remnants of those old beliefs and practices are the expressions of ‘oh my Arceus!’ and such.”

“I wonder if Legendary Pokémon were ever even real, though.” Izuku mused “I mean, maybe humans just made them up…”

“That’s honestly the most likely possibility.” Inko said with a slight sigh “After all, no real evidence of these ‘Legendary Pokémon’ has ever been found beyond the fragmented and incomplete human writings of them, so chances are they were all just Old Fairy-types’ Tales.”

“Hm… hey mom, what are we gonna have for dinner? I can help.” Izuku said with a slight wag of his tail.

“Thanks, baby, but I’d rather you not aggravate your wounds too much.” Said Inko.

“Really mom, I’m fine, these aren’t too bad.” Said Izuku. “I mean, at least I didn’t have to go to the hospital or anything.”

Inko frowned slightly. “Izuku, you still got a lot of burns, and we still don’t know for sure that there aren’t any serious ones. It wouldn’t be wise to aggravate them so soon. You need to rest. Don’t worry about me, your wellbeing comes first. In fact, first time tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the doctor for a checkup.”

The young Eevee looked like he wanted to protest, but ultimately decided to comply. Inko did notice that although Izuku seemed to have perked up a little, he was still noticeably saddened.

Inko sighed as she exited her son’s room and headed to the kitchen to prepare curry. Inko knew how much Izuku had been looking forward to becoming a Jolteon just like his favorite hero. He’d been so happy when he woke up that morning! Her son was putting up a front now, but he likely was going to be down for days about being denied his evolution. A few stories and a nice dinner just weren’t going to cut it…

* * *

Izuku woke up early the morning after Kacchan’s beating. The burns stung a bit less than they did before, and the doctor had assured him and his mom that there were no serious injuries that Izuku’s burns would heal after a few weeks. Because school wouldn’t start until tomorrow, Izuku decided to go take a walk to clear his head. He wondered if the Evolution Stone vendor was still in Musutafu or if they had already moved on… not that Izuku was thinking of finding out, of course: knowing Kacchan, he’d probably prowl around the area to ensure Izuku had learned his lesson. So Izuku simply wandered aimlessly for a couple of hours until he finally decided to return home.

“Hi mom, I’m back.” Izuku called.

“Oh! You’re back!” his mom answered from elsewhere before rushing to greet him. She was clutching a small bundle of yellow, blue, and red clothes in her mouth.

Izuku blinked “Mom? What’s that?”

His mother unfolded the bundle, which turned out to be a single piece of clothing. It was an All Might hoodie of Izuku’s size. Izuku gasped.

“I decided to buy you a new one because the old one didn’t fit anymore.” His mom rubbed the back of her head with a paw “I know how much you used to love these- Izuku? Oh no, are you crying?!”

“I LOVE IT!” Izuku snatched the hoodie and hastily put it on, all while crying tears of joy.

“Oh, thank goodness, for a second I thought I had done something wrong!” said his mom.

“Sorry, it’s just… it made me happy.” Izuku ran over to his mom and hugged her. She hugged him back.

“Thank you, mom.” Izuku said as he buried his face into her soft, warm fur.

His mom nuzzled him “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone's wondering, yes, Izuku and Inko sleep in doggy beds.


	30. A Typhlosion at the League

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugo hangs out with the villains, who try to invite him to a pizza party.

Inside a small bar located in a secluded area of Kamino Ward, Katsuki Bakugo watched the news while restrained and surrounded by villains.

The TV at the end of the rather cramped room was tuned to the news, where a press conference with UA High was being held: Principal Nezu, Vlad King, and Aizawa-sensei (who by the way had cleaned himself up quite remarkably for the cameras: the Absol’s normally shaggy and disheveled fur looked especially well-groomed now. And he was even wearing a necktie!) were being interviewed on the Summer Camp incident, and it was _not_ going well. Right off the bat, the first reporter went straight for the jugular by questioning UA on the previous villain attacks, then Nezu made the uncharacteristically boneheaded response of “increasing patrols”, which was just about the least impressive way to deal with attacks of the scale that Katsuki and his classmates had experienced.

The leader of the villains, Tomura Shigaraki, was quite pleased with what he was seeing, however.

“Well, how about that.” the Grimmsnarl chuckled “UA are becoming the bad guys now! It looks like they’re not dealing with this very well. Modern heroes sure have it rough, don’t you think, Katsuki Bakugo?”

The young Typhlosion glared defiantly at his captor. He was still really confused about how the hell he’d ended up here. All he remembered was… _something_ being thrown at him, and then he entered some sort of dreamlike state, which was broken just in time for him to be dragged through a portal and into this hideout. Naturally, the villains had shackled and immobilized Katsuki immediately so he couldn’t run or use his Quirk. Regardless, Katsuki wasn’t going to let himself be intimidated, even if literally every villain was staring intently at him right now.

Aside from Shigaraki, the only other familiar face was Smoky Bastard the Spiritomb. The rest of the villains were clearly new recruits, so Katsuki made a point to memorize as many details about them as possible. There was a Ninetales with frighteningly large patches of what looked like third degree burns all over his body, a Zorua with blonde fur who was also the only Pokémon in the room grinning in a way that showed off her glisteningly sharp teeth, a Sceptile who was wearing some really shitty ninja clothes and carrying the most impractical sword ever on his back (it was literally made of dozens of smaller swords somehow held together by belts) that was clearly compensating for something, an Alolan Golem wearing sunglasses… indoors… at nighttime… err, a Girafarig in a black skintight suit, and lastly a Delphox in an orange overcoat, whom Katsuki recognized as the Pokémon who had captured him with that small, round capsule thing. The young Typhlosion made a mental note to bite that last one’s face off at the first opportunity he got.

“Heroes only care about money and glory these days.” Said Shigaraki, interrupting Katsuki’s thoughts “Pokémon from all walks of life buy into these rules, meaning anyone deemed a loser is shoved aside. So, we wanted to pose some questions: what is a true hero? What is true justice? Is our current society truly fair? Very soon, everyone will be asking themselves these questions too, and that’s when we’ll know we’ve won… and you _like_ winning, don’t you, Katsuki Bakugo?”

Katsuki didn’t say anything, but he was seething right now. What kind of lame persuasion tactic was that?! Did these idiots really think he was into heroism solely because he liked winning? …I mean, sure that was his favorite part, but-

“Dabi, you can release him now.” Shigaraki said to the Ninetales.

“What, so he can explode us along with the entire building?” the Ninetales retorted. “No way.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, this kid is our new recruit, so we should treat him kindly.” Said Shigaraki “Besides, he can’t take on all of us by himself, and I think he’s smart enough to realize that.”

“…Okay, fine, but let Twice unshackle him instead. No way I’m getting close to that brat.”

“What? Why me?!” the Girafarig asked in an irritated tone.

“I’d be glad to!” the Girafarig’s tail suddenly spoke up.

“Quiet, you!” the Girafarig screamed at his tail.

“Stop arguing with your butt and undo the shackles, Twice.” Dabi flicked his tails in annoyance.

Twice shot the Ninetales a glare before walking over to Katsuki, then promptly turning around to let his tail start biting into the cuffs.

“You poor thing, you have so much potential that’s being wasted because those heroes are holding you back.” Shigaraki said in a sympathetic tone.

“Yeah, you clearly have to hold back on your explosions, but anyone with eyes can tell you _love_ causing pain.” The Zorua giggled “You may not be my type, but I can relate to the feeling. It is satisfying, no? Why, I bet you’ve even told someone to kill themselves!”

“Hey, whoa, Toga, let’s not go crazy.” Said the Alolan Golem “I don’t think any of us have ever gone that far!”

“Yeah, if you want somebody dead, just kill them yourself. Telling someone to commit suicide is just the cowardly version of murder.” Said Dabi “And as much of a douchebag as this Typhlosion brat may be, I can tell he’s no coward.”

Amidst his growing anger, Katsuki had to suppress a wince. Just what he needed; a reminder of Uraraka getting on his case. He literally only told Deku to kill himself ONCE. Why would the universe not let him live that down?! …besides, Katsuki hadn’t really _meant_ it: sure, he hated that stupid Eevee nerd, but it’s not like he wanted him _dead_ or anything, he just… was more pissed off than usual that day…

 _But what if the nerd had gone through with it? What then?_ A tiny voice inside of Katsuki’s head asked.

Katsuki shook his head. No, shut up. Deku hadn’t, so clearly he could take it. End of story.

 _Please_ , the voice inside his head scoffed, _you’ve known Deku for over a decade, and you know how weak and wimpy the nerd was. How he cried at the drop of a hat. Still does, in fact. You literally gambled with his life… No wonder these villains want to recruit you._

Katsiku bit the interior of his cheek in frustration. Fuck, it was like he had a mini Uraraka living inside his brain!

_I. Didn’t. Mean it._

_Then why did you say it, dumbass?_

“As part of our group, you’ll be free to do whatever you want, Bakugo.” Shigaraki was speaking again “We can help you become a _true_ winner.”

At long last, Twice’s tail finished biting through Katsuki’s cuffs.

As soon as Katsuki was free, he knocked Twice down with a punch and proceeded to attack Shigaraki with a blast of Lava Plume, knocking off the dissected hand he used as a mask.

“I’m TIRED of listening to your faux-grandiose talking: all I hear is that you want to stir up some trouble and want me to be a part of it! Well FAT CHANCE! I like winning, yes, but I’ll do it as a _hero_! And that will _never_ change!”

There was a long silence as the villains looked back and forth between Katsuki and Shigaraki in utter shock. The latter was unmoving, facing away from Katsuki and staring at the mummified hand he’d knocked off.

“See? I told you letting him free was a bad idea.”

“Dabi!” the Delphox snapped at the Ninetales in a half-panicked, half-scolding tone, as though afraid that Shigaraki might snap and react violently. The Grimmsnarl didn’t do much more than tense up, though.

“You said earlier that the safety of your students was first priority, but according to our reports, Eraserhead encouraged the students to fight.” A reporter’s voice suddenly blared through the room, startling everyone.

Oh, right, the TV was still on. In their excitement Katsuki and the villains had completely forgotten about that. Now everyone’s attention was back on the interview.

“We didn’t know the full scale of our situation, so I concluded that allowing them to use their Quirks to defend themselves would avoid the worst possible outcome.” Aizawa-sensei answered surprisingly calmly.

“And what would the ‘worst possible outcome’ be?” the reporter inquired “27 children were injured, and one was kidnapped. How is that in any way a win?”

“I assure you that things could have gone much more poorly.” Aizawa-sensei answered. “Students could have gotten killed.”

“Most of the victims were due to a villain’s Poison Gas Quirk.” Nezu added in support of the Absol “It’s thanks to the actions of two students, Kendo and Tetsutetsu, that injuries were kept to a bare minimum. This would not have been the case had the students not been given the order to defend themselves.”

“Ah, well, good to know that there’s a silver lining.” the reporter said sarcastically.

“We’re relieved that an entire class of fledgling heroes still has a future.” Nezu responded calmly.

“Oh, really?” the reporter inquired “And what about Katsuki Bakugo, the Typhlosion who was abducted? If I recall correctly, he’s one of your most powerful first-years, yet at the same time he demonstrated at the Sports Festival that he’s got an atrocious temper, and dare I say, sadistic tendencies. At the potential risk of stating the obvious, that is _not_ a good combination for a prospective hero to have. In fact, it’s the most likely reason Bakugo was targeted by the villains in the first place. They’re probably brainwashing him right now as we speak. Knowing these facts, how can you say that Bakugo still has a future with a straight face?”

“ _Ouch!_ ” the Golem chuckled “This reporter is good!”

“Shame that the cameras are so completely focused on the UA staff.” The Delphox said in agreement “I’d love to see the face of our true star.”

“Look at Eraser! He looks like he’s about to tear the reporter to bloody pieces!” the Zorua giggled in delight “I sure hope he does!”

And yeah, Aizawa-sensei looked _pissed_ , which was rather strange to see, since he hardly ever conveyed any emotion that wasn’t aloof indifference. The Absol stood up, glaring at the camera (though it was most likely meant for the offscreen reporter) for a few seconds before rather abruptly composing himself and taking a deep bow.

“As Katsuki Bakugo’s teacher, I claim full responsibility for not properly reigning in his violent behavior.” Aizawa-sensei said “However, I will say that as… _unbecoming_ as his actions at the Sports Festival might have been, it was born out of a sense of honor: Bakugo was upset because he didn’t feel like he truly earned his victory, so he’s more than the ill-tempered spoiled brat that he sometimes comes across. If the villains think they can brainwash him, they’re gravely mistaken.”

Hearing this made Katsuki smirk smugly at his captors “HA! You hear that, assholes?! Looks like the teachers give me more credit than I thought.”

Katsuki bared his claws as his eyes darted across the room, looking at each villain carefully. Because the villains wanted the Katsuki to join their ranks, they obviously weren’t gonna kill him, and the Typhlosion could use this to his advantage and knock out at least a few of them before busting himself out; sure, he wasn’t at camp anymore, but _technically_ Aizawa-sensei’s permission to fight was still in place.

“I WILL NEVER JOIN YOUR LEAGUE OF BASTARDS!” Katsuki yelled triumphantly and set off a few explosions to intimidate his captors.

The villains tensed and prepared to engage.

Well, all villains except Shigaraki, who still had his eyes on the mummified hand. Seriously, what the hell. Did he have some kind of emotional attachment to that thing? Who the fuck would be emotionally attached to a _severed, mummified hand_? Especially because since this Grimmsnarl was a villain, that hand was probably a trophy kill or something equally depraved. Fucking creepy-ass weirdo.

And then at long last, Shigaraki moved, glaring at Katsuki and raising a clawed hand slowly. Almost like he was about to activate his Quirk. The villains stared at him in surprise, and even Katsuki’s heart skipped a beat: he hadn’t actually seen Shigaraki use his Quirk, but from what he knew of Aizawa-sensei’s injuries fighting him, it sounded kind of like a reversal of Recovery Girl’s Heal Pulse, and the thought of what a Quirk like that could do was admittedly unnerving.

“No, Tomura Shigaraki! Be calm!” the Spiritomb flared up his smoky body and prepared to lunge, only to be stopped at the last second by Shigaraki, who stopped moving his arm about halfway through in a “don’t move” gesture.

“Don’t lay a finger on him.” Said Shigaraki. “Any of you.”

Now that Katsuki had a clearer look at the villain’s face, he very nearly winced at the sight of it: he’d already guessed that the guy was probably butt-ugly, but good _fucking_ Lord Arceus, Ho-oh, Rayquaza, and every other Legendary ever. This Grimmsnarl was _hideous_. The skin on his face was so crusty it was a wonder it hadn’t peeled off and crumbled into bits yet, and then there was all the wrinkles, which looked especially out of place in what was clearly not an elderly Pokémon; Katsuki had no idea how old Shigaraki was exactly, but he couldn’t be much older than young adulthood. About the only notable feature about Shigaraki’s face that wasn’t thoroughly disturbing was a tiny mole on the left side of his lower jaw.

Shigaraki turned around again and leaned down to pick up the severed hand with disconcerting delicacy.

“This hero is still a valuable piece.” He said as he put the hand back on his face and then turned to face Katsuki once again.

“You really should have listened to my offer, Bakugo. But now you’ve left me no choice: the heroes are still hunting us down as we speak, so we can’t afford to waste any more time. We’re just gonna have to put you back to sleep.”

Shigaraki then addressed the Delphox.

“Alright, Compress, why don’t we test out if that item you retrieved still works?”

“It will be my pleasure.” The Delphox answered with a slight bow before reaching into a pocket and pulling out what looked like a ball of charred metal.

“Wait, what the fuck is that?” Katsuki asked as he took on a defensive position.

“Oh, don’t worry, young Bakugo. This little doohickey won’t harm you. You’ve been inside one like it already, after all.” Compress said with a chuckle.

Katsuki blanched slightly. He’d been _inside_ a tiny thing like that? How? Then he realized that that’s probably what the object that was thrown at him just before losing consciousness was.

“Of course, the one I’m currently holding has been burned quite badly, but I’m quite confident that the damage is superficial.” Then Compress got ready to throw the thing.

Just as Katsuki was starting to suspect that maybe this time he’d gotten way in over his head, there was a knock at the front door that made everyone freeze in place.

“Pizza delivery!” a voice from outside called.

“Oh my Arceus, FINALLY!” Twice exclaimed as he happily made his way to the door and opened it to receive roughly three boxes of Pizza. He then gave the delivery Pelipper his tip and closed the door as the bird Pokémon left.

The others (yes, even Katsuki) stared at the Girafarig in utter shock.

“…What?” Twice questioned, the pizza boxes carefully balanced on his back “Our mission was technically successful, so I thought I’d order us some grub to celebrate.”

A few more minutes passed before someone finally spoke up.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK. TWICE. I nearly had a heart attack back there…” cried Dabi in the very first time that night he’d even raised his voice.

“Yeah, Twice, for a second there I thought we’d been found or something.” Said the Golem.

“Well, we weren’t. So there.” Twice said with finality as he set the pizzas on the table.

“Besides, Dabi doesn’t even have a heart!” his tail added, and Twice immediately shushed it in alarm, though the Ninetales whom Twice’s tail had tried to insult only snickered at the jab.

Pretty soon, the villains all relaxed and decided to chow down on the pizzas.

“Here, kid, have some.” The Sceptile said to Katsuki as he offered him a slice “It’s got stuffed crust.”

Katsuki fulminated the Sceptile with a glare until the villain wisely decided to finally back the hell off. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard Katsuki’s stomach grumble; truth is, the young Typhlosion was starving, as he hadn’t had anything to eat since camp, so the pizza truthfully sounded and smelled _extremely_ inviting. It’s just that Katsuki refused to accept any peace offerings from these bastards. That said, watching them eat was honestly the closest thing to actual torture these villains had inflicted on Katsuki so far. Luckily, he did not have to endure this for long.

“KNOCK-KNOCK, MOTHERFUCKERS!” yelled the enormous musclebound Jolteon as he crashed through the hideout’s wall, knocking it down with minimal effort.

“It’s All Might!” cried Shigaraki “Kurogiri, hurry, get us out of here!”

Before the Spiritomb could react, though, more heroes entered the scene: a Trevenant, whom Katsuki instantly recognized as Kamui Woods, ensnared all the villains present with his branches. Dabi tried to use his fire to set himself and his comrades free but was stunned by a blow to the head by a yellow blur before he could do so.

“Don’t try to make this difficult!” said the yellow figure, who had landed on the floor for Katsuki see that he was an old Hawlucha in a yellow costume.

“Just as I’d expect, Gran Torino.” All Might addressed the Hawlucha with a nod.

“Wait, you found us so soon after the press conference?!” Compress cried “Darn it, you had this all planned out, didn’t you, you bastards!”

“Indeed. And we didn’t come alone.” Said a pro-hero Whimsicott (the Ninja Hero Edgeshot, Katsuki realized… damn it! Deku’s nerdism was rubbing off him, wasn’t he?) who’d just slipped through a crack on the door and opened it to reveal that there was entire police squadron waiting at the entrance.

“You’re surrounded at all sides by police and powerful heroes.” Said Edgeshot “It’s over, villains.”

“Young Bakugo!” All Might went to Katsuki’s side “You must have been so scared! Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

“I WASN’T SCARED!” Katsuki cried. And that was the 100% honest truth. Katsuki was no wuss.

“KUROGIRI!” Shigakari suddenly screamed “WARP OVER AS MANY TYPE: NULLS OVER HERE AS YOU CAN!”

All Might just smirked “Sorry, but that’s not gonna happen. We know of the Type: Null factory too. Another group of heroes is at its location, taking care of it as we speak.”

Shigaraki was completely shaken “N-no. You’re bluffing! There’s no way… Kurogiri! Bring them here!”

“I-I’m sorry, Tomura Shigaraki…” said the Spiritomb as he struggled to break free of Kamui Wood’s ensnaring branches “They’re gone. The Type: Nulls are gone.”

“Seems you have a lot to learn, Shigaraki.” Said All Might as he stood beside Katsuki “You greatly underestimated all of us. Your little game is over!”

“Really, All Might? You seriously believe that?” Shigaraki said defiantly “I’ve only just begun to play! Kurogiri-!”

The Spiritomb suddenly fell forwards, unconscious, and a thin line flew out of his body.

“That’s Infiltrator for you.” Edgeshot said smugly as his body retook its original shape “With my Quirk I can slip through the tiniest cracks of any surface, and organic bodies are no exception! I messed around a bit with this Spiritomb’s insides to knock him out. He won’t wake up for a good while.”

“Oh, _come on_!” Shigaraki groaned.

“Weren’t you paying attention?” the Hawlucha, gran Torino, scolded “We came prepared for everything you could throw at us. There’s nowhere left to run. Now, Tomura Shigaraki, tell us where your boss is.”

Katsuki did a double take. So Shigaraki _wasn’_ t the leader of the League?! …okay, to be fair that was super obvious in hindsight, ‘cause that Grimmsnarl was clearly too pathetic and immature so he couldn’t realistically lead for shit. But if he wasn’t the big boss, then who-

Suddenly, multiple portals materialized in mid-air and Type: Nulls started crawling out of all of them.

“Wait, what?!” Kamu Woods exclaimed in utter shock “Edgeshot, I thought you said you’d incapacitated the Spiritomb!”

“I did!” The Whimsicott responded “He’s still out cold! This is not his doing!”

“Kamui! No matter what happens, keep the villains restrained!” All Might cried.

Suddenly, Katsuki doubled over as he felt a sharp, painful pang on his stomach. He hadn’t eaten anything at all in a good while, but now he felt as though he was about to burst. Then, he felt his mouth fill with some gross-tasting liquid that he at first assumed must be bile. Until he spat it out and the liquid revealed itself to be the same unnatural black color as the portals that had just appeared.

“BAKUGO! NO!!” All Might jumped, trying to catch him. But it was too late. In a matter of seconds, Katsuki’s body was completely wrapped up by the portal-liquid and just like that, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, this isn't it for Bakugo's consequences. Uraraka calling him out made him feel guilty, and on some level he's always known that his suicide dare to Midoriya was extremely screwed up, but he's still too proud to fully admit it.
> 
> Also, I just realized I never revealed what Pokemon Vlad King was hahaha oops... anyway, he's a Drapion. Just clearing that up now because he's been mentioned plenty of times in past chapters and his species has remained a mystery when it was never meant to be one.
> 
> Anyway, first chapter of the year! Let's hope for a good 2021. We need it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! I'm new here and this is my first fanfic that I'm writing as a way to alleviate boredom and art block. I know it's not very creative, as this is just a little side project so I can engage myself on something even while I'm mentally and emotionally stuck. Please don't be afraid to leave a comment, even on the occasion I don't respond, I read them all. If you want to see the stuff I drew for this fic, you can find it on this Tumblr: https://myheropokemonacademia.tumblr.com/


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